CIHM 
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995 


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10X  14X  18X 


22X 


J 


2IX 


13 


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Tha  laat  racordad  frama  on  aach  microficha 
shall  contain  tha  symbol  — ^  (meaning  "CON- 
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whichever  applies. 


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de  la  nettetS  de  I'eiiemplaire  film*,  et  en 
conformlta  avac  las  conditions  du  contrst  da 
filmage. 

Les  sxempleiree  originaux  dont  la  couvenurs  sn 
pepier  est  imprimSe  sent  filmSs  sn  commsncsnt 
psr  Is  premier  pist  st  sn  tsrminsnt  soit  par  Is 
derniare  page  qui  eomporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustrstlon.  soit  psr  Is  second 
plot,  salon  la  eas.  Tous  Iss  sutres  sxempleires 
orlginsus  sont  fllmas  sn  commen9snt  par  Is 
premltrs  paga  qui  eomporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustrstlon  st  an  terminant  par 
la  darnitre  paga  qui  eomporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  sulvsnts  sppsrsitra  sur  la 
dernl*re  imege  de  cheque  microfiche,  telon  le 
ces:  le  symbols  ^»  signifis  "A  SUIVRE".  le 
symbols  y  signifis  "FIN". 


Mapa,  plates,  chsru.  etc..  mey  be  filmed  st 
diffsrent  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  Included  in  one  expoaura  ara  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  msny  frames  ss 
rsquired.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  csnss.  pisnches.  tsblesux.  stc..  psuvsnt  etre 
filmts  *  dss  taux  de  raduction  diffSrsnts. 
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et  de  hsut  en  bas.  en  prenant  Is  nombre 
d'imsges  nacesssire.  Les  disgrsmmss  suivsnts 
illustrent  Is  mSthode. 


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\Ll-;  sniDlI-S  IN  J'NCiLISH 


Mil  TON'S 

ii:niiki:-()1'  kings^ 

AN!)  MA(;iSl'RAl^HS 


'   WILLIAM  TA)  nor  ALLISON 


YALE  STUDIES  IN  ENGLISH 
ALBERT  S.  COOK,  Editoii. 


THE  TENURE  OF  KINGS  AND 
MAGISTRATES 

BV 

JOHN  MILTON 
EDITED  WITH  INTRODUCTION  AND  NOTES 

HV 

WILLIAM  TALBOT  ALLISON.  B.D.,  PhD.. 

PROFESSOR   OF   ENGLISH, 

WESLEY   COLLEGE,    UNIVERSITY   OF   MANITOBA, 

WINNIPEG 


A  Thatis  pr«*ent«d  to  the  Ficulty  of  th«  Qrtdutta  School  of  Yal* 
Univepiity  in  Candidacy  for  the  Oagraa  of  Doctor  of  Fhilotophy 


NEW  YORK 

HENRY  HC'.T  AND  COMPANY 

IQtl 


WBMAR:  PRINTED  BV  R.  WAGKER  SOHK. 


iJijVQ' 


PREFACE 

f|  It  is  not  a  little  surprising,  when  one  considers  the 

amount  of  attention  that  has  been  bestowed  on  Milton's 
poetry,  that  his  prose  tracts,  with  a  very  few  excep- 
tions, have  lain  so  neglected  in  recent  times.  The 
present  edition  is  an  atte'  '.'t  to  remedy  this  neglect, 
so  far  as  one  of  these  treatises  is  concerned.  Others, 
it  is  hoped,  will  follow;  indeed,  The  Ready  and  Eaay 
Way  to  estat'.iah  a  Free  Commonureallh  has  already  been 
taken  in  hand. 

A  portion  of  the  expense  of  printing  '"lis  book  has 
been  borne  by  the  Modem  Language  lub  of  Yale 
University,  from  funds  placed  at  its  <  ^osal  by  the 
generosity  of  Mr.  George  E.  Dimock,  of  Elizabeth, 
New  Jersey,  a  graduate  of  Yale  in  the  Class  of  1874. 


Yale  University, 

January,   igit. 


Albert  S.  Cook. 


CONTENTS 


INTRODUCTION 


1. 

DaTK   and   .\LTHORSim'               .... 

i 

II. 

HlsTimicAi.  SniiATlo.N 

vi 

III. 

PURl'OSK 

xii 

IV. 

Lt:AUlN«   IllKAS 

xiv 

V. 

The  COVENA.NT 

xix 

VI. 

The  Presbyi  ERiA.N  Divines   .... 

xxiii 

VII. 

Use  uv  ScRii'irRK 

sxvi 

VIII. 

B.\CKGk.HM.   OK   PnLlTIl.AI.   TlloHIlM 

XXX 

IX. 

SolTRfKS 

xxxviii 

X. 

Style    

xlvi 

XI. 

Orthography        

.. 

XII. 

A  Contemporary  Ckiticis-m 

lii 

THE  TENURE  OF  KINGS  AND  M.^GISTRATEh 

3 

NOTES 

S9 

THE  HISTORY  OF  TYRANNICIDE         .       . 

156 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

■  73 

INDEX  TO  TEXT 

182 

INTRODUCTION. 

I.  Date  and  Authorship. 

To  George  Thomason,  bookseller  of  the  Rose  and 
Crown  in  St.  Paul's  Church  Yard,  friend  of  Rushworth, 
Calamy,  and  Milton,  and  keen  observer  of  religious 
and  political  affairs,  we  owe  the  British  Museum  col- 
lection of  tracts  which  bears  his  name.  From  1640 
to  1661  Thomason  collected  each  day's  output  of 
tracts,  broadsides,  newspapers,  books,  even  fly-leaves 
of  doggerel  verse,  and  stored  them  away  for  the  ed- 
ification of  future  ages.  Few  of  the  publications  rela- 
ting to  the  Civil  War,  the  Commonwealth,  and  the 
Restoration  eluded  his  vigilance.  As  the  flood  of  this 
voluminous  period  bore  in  upon  him,  he  carefully 
noted  the  exact  date  of  each  publication  in  his  cata- 
logue, and  often  wrote  out  the  full  name  of  the  author 
where  the  treatise  or  book  gave  only  the  initials.  On 
this  account,  Thomason  is  the  sole  authority  for  the 
dates  of  first  and  second  editions  of  many  books  now 
regarded  as  classics  of  English  literature. 

Among  eight  publications  which  came  into  Thoma- 
son's  hands  from  the  presses  of  London  on  Feb.  13, 
1649,  one  small  quarto,  the  work  of  a  friend,  must 
have  been  noted  by  him  with  special  pleasure.  The 
entry  was  as  follows ;—' The  Tenure  of  Kings  and 
Magistrates:  proving  that  it  is  Lawfull  for  any  who 
have  the  Power  to  call  to  account  a  Tyrant  or  wicked 
King  and  after  due  conviction  to  depose,  and  put  him 
to  death.  The  Author,  J.  M.  [i.  e.  John  Milton.]  Prin- 
ted by  Matthew  Simmons  (13  Feb)."  A  year  later, 
b 


I  li 


"  iHtnductim 

on  Feb.  15,  1660,   he   notes  the  arrival  at  the  Rose 
and  Crown  of  a  copy  of  the  second  edition :— '  The 
Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates,  proving  that  it  is 
Lawful!  to  call  to  account  a  Tyrant,  or  wicked  King, 
and  put  him  to   death.     Published  now  the  second 
time  with  some  additions.    The  author  J.  M.  [i.  e.  John 
Milton]  pp.  60.   Printed  by  Matthew  Simmons  (15  Feb.).' 
We  are  thus  certain  of  the  exact  date  of  publication 
of  this  treatise,  the  first  apology  for  the  Commonwealth. 
Thanks   to   another  contemporary  witness,   we  have 
most  it.ieresting  information  as  to  the  place  of  compo- 
sition, the  authors  motive,  his  political  sympathies, 
and  the  effect  of  the  publication  on  his  own  personal 
fortunes.     Our  authority  is  Milton's  nephew,  Edward 
Philips,  who  gives  a  more  extended  reference  to  this 
pamphlet  than  might  have  been  expected  in  the  brief 
compass  of  his  charming  sketch  of  the  life  of  the  poet. 
'  It  was  not  long  after  the  march  of  Fairfax  and  Crom- 
well through  the  city  of  London  with  the  whole  army, 
to   quell  the  insurrections.  Brown  and  Massey,  now 
malecontents  also,  were  endeavoring  to  raise  in  the 
city  against  the  armies  proceedings,  ere  he  left  his 
great  house   in   Barbican,   and   betook   himself  to  a 
smaller  in  High  Holbourn,   among  those  that  open 
backward  into  Lincolns-Inn  Fields.     Here  he  liv'd  a 
private  and  quiet  life,  still  prosecuting  his  studies  and 
curious  sea  ch  into  knowledge,  the  grand  affair  per- 
petually of  his  life ;  till  such  time  as,  the  war  being 
now  at  an  end,  with  compleat  victory  to  the  Parlia- 
ment's side,  as  the  Parliament  then  stood  purg'd  of  all 
its  dissenting  members,  and  the  king  after  some  trr  i- 
ties  with  the  army  re  infecta,  brought  to  his  tryal ;  tiie 
form  of  government  being  now  chang'd  into  a  free 
state,   he   was   hereupon   oblig'd   to  write   a  treatise, 
call'd  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates.' 


Dale  and  Authorship  ,ii 

'After  which  his  thoughts  were  bent  upon  retirine 

again   to   his  own  private  studies,  and  falling  upon 

such  subieets  as  his  proper  genius  prompted  him  to 

write  of,  among  which  was  the  history  of  our  own 

nation  f^om  the  beginning  till  the  Norman  Conquest, 

wherein  he  had  made  some  progress.    When  (for  tnis 

his  last  treatise,  reviving  the  fame  of  some  other  things 

he  had  formerly  published)  being  more  and  more  takfn 

notice  of  for  the  excellency  of  his  stile,  and  depth  of 

judgement,   he  was  courted  into  the  service  of  this 

new  Commonwealth,  and  at   last  prevail'd  with  (for 

he  never   hunted  after  preferment,   nor   affected   the 

tmtimar  and  hurry  of  publick  business)  to  take  upon 

State*"  °'^**'"  '^"""y  '°  ""^  Counsel  of 

and  Magtslrate,  was  written  subsequent  to  the  exe- 
cution of  Charles  I  and  the  proclamation  of  the  Repub- 

ort.; It'  f^°  ."?•  P"''"^''ed,  i,  is  true,  exactlv  a 
fortnight  after  the  king's  death,  and  a  week  after  "the 
official  settmg-up  of  t^  :  republican  form  of  govern! 

s7t!o"n  MU  '"r  "  ,'"  ^""  ^^  '°  *^  -^"^  »f -"po- 
sition Milton  himself,  in  an  autobiographical  passage 
n  the  l^econd  Defence,  distinctly  states  that  he  wrol 
this    pamphlet    when    the   House    of  Commons   was 

of  c.vil  liberty,  1  said  nothing,  because  I  saw  that  suf- 
ficient attention  was  paid  to  it  by  the  magistrates  nor 
dd  I  write  anything  on  the  prerogative  of  the  crown 

vanlV,U^H^'  ™l  ''"  ^"^""y  ^y  'he  parliament,  and 
vanquihed  in  the  field,  was  summoned  befor^  the 
tnbuna  which  condemned  him  to  lose  his  head.  But 
fo^ef  '^"eth,  some  Presbyterian  ministers,  who  had 
formerly  been  the  most  bitter  enemies  to  Charles,  be- 

'  '^''^'^'  '■""  -/  ■^»-  <""'  M-  Ph,l,p.,  app.  p.  371. 


'"'  Introduction 

came  jealous  of  the  growth  of  the  Independents,  and 
of  their  ascendancy  in  the  parliament,  most  tumul- 
tuously  clamoured  against  the  sentence,  and  did  all 
in  their  power  to  prevent  the  execution,  though  they 
were  not  angry  so  much  on  account  of  the  act  it- 
self, as  because  it  was  not  the  act  of  their  party ;  and 
when  they  dared  to  affirm,  that  the  doctrine  of  the 
Protestants,  and  of  all  the  reformed  churches  was  ab- 
horrent to  such  an  atrocious  proceeding  against  kings. 
I  thought  that  it  became  me  to  oppose  such  a  glaring 
falsehood ;  and  accordingly,  without  any  immediate  or 
personal  application  to  Charles,  I  shewed,  in  an  ab- 
stract consideration  of  the  question,  what  might  law- 
fully be  done  against  tyrants:  and  in  support  of  what 
I  advanced,  produced  the  opinions  of  the  most  cele- 
brated divines ;  while  I  vehemently  inveighed  against 
the  egregious  ignorance  or  effrontery  of  men,  who 
professed  better  things,  and  fi-om  whom  better  things 
might  have  been  expected.  That  book  did  not  make 
its  appearance  till  after  the  death  of  Charles ;  and  was 
written  rather  to  reconcile  the  minds  of  the  people  t' 
the  event,  than  to  discuss  the  legitimacy  of  that  partic- 
ular sentence  which  concerned  the  magistrates,  and 
which  was  already  executed '  (Bohn  1.  259).  Aside 
from  this  direct  evidence,  a  careful  reading  of  the  trea- 
tise itself  might  have  convinced  Philips  of  his  mistake. 
Milton  refers  to  the  trial  of  the  king  (6.  12  ff.)  as  a 
matter  still  under  discussion :  •  They  plead  for  him, 
pity  him,  extoll  him,  protest  against  those  that  talke 
of  bringing  him  to  the  tryall  of  Justice,  etc. '  He  al- 
ludes to  those  Independents  who  hesitate  to  take  such 
a  course,  who  '  begin  to  swer\'e,  and  almost  shiver  at 
the  Majesty  and  grandeur  of  som  noble  deed '  (6. 10). 
The  king  is  spoken  of  as  one  still  alive  (8.  20),  '  the 
Sword  of  Justice  is  above  him'  (8.34),  a  prisoner,  he 


Dale  and  Authorship  v 

should  not  'think  to  scape  unquestionable'  (21.21). 
He  also  speaks  of  '  the  proceedings  now  in  Parlament 
against  the  King'  (27.  31).  In  88.  16 ff.  the  Presby- 
terians are  denounced,  'who  now.  to  the  stirring  up 
of  new  discord,  acquitt  him ;  . .  .  absolve  him,  uncon- 
found  him,  though  unconverted,  unrepentant,'  etc.  He 
speaks  of  the  king's  trial  as  a  future  event  (40.  16), 
and  of  the  likelihood  of  his  punishment  by  the  Par- 
liament and  Military  Council  '  if  it  appeare  thir  duty ' 
(40.  22),  while  in  42.  8  he  refers  to  •  what  remaines 
to  doe,'  and  warns  the  Presbyterian  divines  to  'be- 
ware an  old  and  perfet  enemy,'  if  they  put  him  in 
his  place  of  old-time  power  (42.  2  ff.). 

Internal  evidence,  therefore,  especially  the  mention 
of  'the  proceedings  now  in  Parlament  against  the 
King,'  and  the  reference  to  those  who  shivered  at  the 
prospect  of  becoming  judges  at  the  trial,  make  it 
certain  that  Milton  wrote  these  pages  during  the 
month  of  January,  1649.  On  Jan.  1  the  Commons 
-ppointed  commissioners  and  judges  to  try  the  king. 
The  proceedings  against  him  were  debated  until  the 
passing  of  the  Resolution  and  Ordinance  of  Jan.  6. 
It  was  also  during  this  momentous  week  that  various 
members  of  the  House  swerved  and  shivered.  Bul- 
strode  Whitelocke,  the  great  lawyer,  found  it  con- 
venient to  retire  into  the  country ;  the  clerk  of  the 
House,  Mr.  Elysyng,  discovered  that  his  health  had 
suddenly  failed  him ;  nearly  half  of  the  commissioners 
failed  to  attend  any  of  the  meetings  of  the  trial  court. 
Lord  General  Fairfax  himself,  an  arch-leader  of  the 
Independents,  was  at  the  first  meeting  on  Jan.  8,  but 
never  attended  a  second  session.  As  Milton's  allusion 
(6.  7  if.)  points  to  these  faint-hearts,  the  treatise  must 
have  been  written  after  Jan.  8.  The  reference  to 
Prynne's   pamphlet.   A  Briefe  Memento  to  the  Present 


*'  Introduction 

Unparliamentary  Junto  (6.  80),  which  was  published  on 
Jan.  19,  would  make  the  date  of  composition  later 
still,  unless  the  sneer  at  Prynne  was  inserted  when 
Milton  was  revising  the  first  sheets  of  his  manuscript. 
The  pamphlet  then  must  have  been  written  between 
Jan.  8  and  Jan.  27,  the  date  on  which  sentence  was 
pronounced  against  the  king.  If  it  was  written  before 
the  trial  of  Charles,  the  period  of  composition  would 
be  narrowed  to  an  interval  of  twelve  days,  between 
Jan.  8  and  Jan.  20.  The  former  time-limit  seems  to 
be  the  more  probable,  but  even  nineteen  days  was 
a  wonderfully  short  space  of  time  for  the  production 
of  such  a  piece  of  work. 


II.  Historical  Situation. 

The  historical  situation,  which  forms  the  background 
to  tiiis  hurriedly  written  book,  and  with  which  it  deals 
in  the  boldest  manner,  was  intensely  dramatic.  From 
the  serene  pages  of  Philips,  with  his  talk  of  the 
prospect  of  Lincolns-Inn  Fields  from  the  High  Hol- 
bom  retreat,  and  his  references  to  the  private  life 
of  Milton  while  ho.  was  '  prosecuting  his  curious  search 
miu  knowledge,'  we  gain  only  a  partial  view  of  the 
great  writer's  interests.  It  is  true  that  he  still  kept 
up  his  studies,  and  this  is  one  of  the  strange  and  well- 
nigh  unaccountable  things  about  so  many  of  the 
scholars,  statesmen,  and  soldiers  of  that  age  of  com- 
motion and  upheaval,  that  they  could  turn  so  easily 
from  the  turmoil  of  events  to  '  the  still  air  and  quiet 
of  delightful  studies,'  and  prosecute  all  kinds  of 
laborious,  and  what  seem  to  us  trivial  researches. 
Considerable  material  in  this  pamphlet  reveals  the 
'  private '  scholar,  the  curious  student  of  ancient  laws 


j 


Histtrical  SiluatitH  vii 

and  historical  precedenU.  We  must  also  remember 
that  in  these  days  of  revolution  Milton  did  consider- 
able work  towards  a  history  of  England.  But  if  there 
was  the  studious  side  to  his  life,  bearing  witness  to 
a  strength  of  mind  that  would  not  be  upset  by  the 
storms  in  the  real  England  at  his  door,  he  was  also 
a  child  of  his  time,  an  intensely  interested  observer 
of  every  move  in  politics  and  religious  controversy. 
He  sai  there  in  his  study  at  High  Holbom,  but  he 
looked  not  towards  Lincolns-Inn  Fields,  but  towards 
Westminster,  where  the  House  of  Commons  was 
hastening  to  the  condemnation  of  Charles  Stuart. 

The  historical  situation  at  the  beginning  of  the  year 
1649  can  best  be  depicted  by  explaining  the  attitude 
of  various  parties  in  England  and  Scotland  towards 
King  Charles.  He  was  at  this  time  a  prisoner  in  the 
hands  of  the  English  army,  whose  leaders  were  Fairfax, 
Ireton,  and  Cromwell.  As  far  back  as  March  or  April, 
1648,  the  army  officers  had  decided  in  their  famous 
prayer-meeting  at  Windsor  Castle  that  the  only  way 
in  which  to  promote  liberty  and  to  secure  peace  for 
England  was  'to  call  Charles  Stuart,  that  man  of 
blood,  to  an  account  for  that  blood  he  had  shed  and 
mischief  he  had  done  to  his  utmost  against  the  Lord's 
Cause  and  People  in  these  poor  Nations."  Fairfax 
weakened  at  the  last,  as  we  have  seen,  but  Cromwell, 
Ireton,  and  the  bulk  of  the  officers  and  men  never 
receded  from  their  stem  prayer-meeting  resolve.  While 
other  parties  treated  with  the  king,  they  issued  mani- 
festo after  manifesto,  the  burden  of  each  and  all  being 
a  demand  for  justice  on  the  king.  In  November  the 
democratic  ideals  of  the  regiments  found  expression  in 
the  Grand  Army  Remonstrance,  in  which  all  attempts 


'  Sm  Carlyle,  Ltlltr,  and  Spfcha  ef  CrommU  1.  286  H. 


"i"  Jnmductiot 

to  treat  with  the  King  were  dentinced,  and  he  him- 
self was  declared  to  be  guilty  of  the  highest  treaion, 
incapable  of  penitence  or  common  honesty.'  On 
Dec.  1  the  army  seized  Charles  as  their  own  prisoner ; 
and  on  the  following  day  Fairfax  led  his  troops  into 
London,  where  they  closed  in  upon  Parliament,  to 
overawe  it  into  submission  with  their  wishes.  Pride's 
Purge  took  place  on  Dec.  6,  by  which  all  opposers 
of  the  army,  some  143  members  of  the  Commons, 
were  excluded  from  their  places,  leaving  78  members 
to  carry  out  the  orders  of  their  masters.  Of  this 
number,  some  28  withdrew  from  the  house  of  their 
own  accord,  leaving  what  Prynne  called  the  '  un- 
parliamentary Junto'  to  bring  the  king  to  the  scaf- 
fold. 

The  second  political  group,  closely  allied  with  the 
army,  was  composed  of  Independents— Puritans  who 
had  gradually  come  to  believe  in  the  separation  of 
church  and  state,  and  were  now  willing  to  grant 
toleration  to  all  religious  freethinkers,  except  prelatists, 
papists,  and  atheists.  At  the  close  of  the  year  1648 
this  party  in  parliament  and  in  the  nation  was  divided 
into  two  classes— first,  the  ultra-radicals,  who  were 
determined  to  compass  the  king's  death,  and  set  up 
a  republic ;  and,  secondly,  the  great  majority,  who  were 
willing  to  visit  the  king  with  deposition,  but  who 
shrank  from  the  army's  proposed  cure  for  the  ills  of 
the  nation.  Of  the  large  number  of  Independent 
divines,  only  two,  so  far  as  is  known,  expressed  ap- 
probation of  the  trial  of  the  king. 

A  third  party,  strongest  in  London,  Lancashire,  and 
Scotland,  was  made  up  of  Presbyterians  who  were 
doing  their  utmost  to  save  the  royal  prisoner  from 


'  Rushworth,  J/isl.  Cell.  7.  1297. 


Hisurical  SiiuatioM  ix 

the  anny  and  the  Independents.  In  the  earlier  years 
of  the  great  rebellion  the  Presbyterians  had  been 
supreme;  they  had  ruled  with  a  high  hand,  had 
established  their  form  of  church  government  in  Eng- 
land on  the  ruins  of  the  prelacy,  had  passed  severe 
laws  against  other  sectaries,  and  had  prosecuted  the 
war  against  the  king  with  energy.  In  spite  of  their 
jealous,  f  ecuting  zeal,  the  Independents  rapidly  in- 
creased in  numbers  and  in  power.  Owing  to  Crom- 
well's tolerance,  the  army  became  a  hotbed  of  radic- 
alism in  politics  and  theology,  and  was  regarded  as 
the  greatest  foe  of  the  Presbyterians,  Actuated  no 
doubt  by  genuine  fear  of  the  regimental  preachers, 
and  alarmed  at  the  rapid  growth  of  the  Independent 
faction  in  the  House  of  Commons,  and  feeling  that 
their  one  chance  to  force  England  to  remain  Pres- 
byterian lay  in  the  rehabilitation  of  the  king,  the  fol- 
lowers of  the  kirk  both  in  Scotland  and  in  England 
labored  from  the  days  of  the  first  imprisonment  at 
Newcastle  in  Aug,,  1646,  to  the  close  of  Nov,,  1648, 
to  negotiate  a  treaty  with  Charles  which  would  be 
satisfactory,  at  least  to  themselves.  The  curious  spec- 
tacle was  now  presented  of  former  enemies  converted 
into  warm  advocates  of  the  king.  A  party  among 
the  Presbyterians  of  Scotland,  headed  by  the  Scottish 
Commissioners  to  England  and  the  Hamiltonians,  had 
even  entered  into  a  secret  engagement  with  the  king, 
in  Jan.  1648,  to  invade  England  with  h  Scotch  army, 
for  the  purpose  of  restoring  him  to  his  full  royalty, 
on  the  understanding  that  he  would  guarantee  the 
Presbyterian  form  of  church  government  in  England 
for  three  years,  and  suppress  the  Independents  and 
all  other  sects  and  heresies.  Although  the  Hamil- 
tonian  party  did  succeed  in  leading  an  army  into  Eng- 
land in  the  Second  Civil  War,  it  must  be  remembered 


i 


*  hmdMcHoH 

thai  Argyle  and  other  Scotch  noble*,  the  Presbyterian 
minittera  of  Scotland,  and  the  vaat  majority  of  their 
congregation*,  were   entirely  out  of  sympathy   both 
with  the  treaty  and  the  invasion.     Yet  in  spite  of  the 
fact   that  there   were   two   classes   among  the  Pres- 
byterians of  the  realm,  just  as  there  were  divisions 
among  the    Independents,    all    the    Presbyterians   of 
Scotland  and  England  were  averse  to  the  army's  pro- 
posal to  bring  the  king  to  trial.     One  and  all  they 
pitied  the  fallen  monarch,  and  would  have  been  glad 
to  restore  him  to  his  crown  and  royal  dignity  at  no 
slight  compromise  of  liberties  hardly  wo:,  in  the  bloody 
struggles  of  the  Civil  War.     Wherefore  not  a  Pres- 
byterian layman  sat  on  the  court  of  trial,  not  a  Pres- 
byterian minister  in  London  approved  the  course  of 
the  army  chiefs.     Hugh  Peters,  Cromwell's  chaplain, 
was  sent  to   discuss   the  subject  amicably  with  the 
Westminster  Assembly  of  Divines,  but  they  declared 
unanimously  for  the  kings  release.    Peters  was  then 
authorized  by  the  army  leaders  to  invite  to  a  friendly 
conference  several  London  divines  who  all  along  had 
preached  in  favor  of  armed  rebellion— Marshall,  Calamy, 
Whitaker,  Sedgewick,  Ashe,  and  others  prominent  in 
Presbyterian  circles.    They  refused  point  blank,  and, 
mstead  of  peaceful  talk  of  compromise,  assembled  in 
Sion  College,  and  drew  up  a  fiery  criticism  of  Crom- 
well and  his  supporters  in  Parliament,  their  Smout 
md  Failkfull  Bepretmtotion.     The  change  of  policy 
among  the  Presbyterians  ii  clearly  seen  by  comparing 
even  the  texts  of  their  earlier  and  later  sermons,  and 
perhaps  best  of  all  in  the  change  of  front  shown  in 
the  writings  of  the  most  voluminous  of  Presbyterian 
pamphleteers,  William  Prynne.     It  was  these  incon- 
sistent sermons,  protestations,  and  tracts  which  excite  " 
the  contempt  of  Milton,  and  partly  inspired  his  treatise. 


Hiilmcal  SitMarioH  xj 

The  last  group,  numerous  but  at  this  time  ui  mport- 
ani,  wai  composed  of  the  Royalists  or  Cavaliers— 
courtien,  clergymen  of  the  old  churoh  deprived  of 
their  livings,  country  squires,  nobles  and  soldiers  in 
exile,  a  great  mass  of  country  people  who  had  to  a 
large  extent  remained  untouched  by  sectarianism  or 
by  the  struggle  for  constitutional  rights;  all  these, 
deprived  of  power,  looked  on  helplessly  at  the  •  royal 
martyr'  moving  to  his  doom. 

Few  men  in  England,  and  none  in  Scotland,  ex- 
pected or  desired  that  the  leaders  of  army  and  par- 
liament would  bring  the  king  to  the  block.  Until 
the  last  moment  thousands  refused  to  believe  that 
Charles  would  really  die  upon  the  scaffold ;  there  was 
to  be  the  pageantry  of  an  execution,  but  nothing 
more.'  '  Only  some  fifty  or  sixty  governing  English- 
me...  with  Oliver  Cromwell  in  the  midst  of  them, 
were  prepared  for  every  reponsibility,  and  stood  inex- 
orably to  their  task.'"  Milton  was  at  one  with  Crom- 
well and  the  other  forward  spirits  in  this  business. 
From  his  careful  study  of  events  he  had  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  Charles  was  a  faithless  tyrant,  respon- 
sible for  whole  massacres  committed  on  his  faithful 
subjects,  guilty  of  a  deluge  of  innocent  blood  (9.  3ff.\ 
a  malefactor  deserving  of  punishment  as  a  common 
pest  and  destroyer  of  mankind  (20. 3).  Neither  Milton 
nor  Cromwell  had  any  superstitious  revere— :e  foi  the 
divinity  that  was  supposed  to  hedge  a  king.  'What 
hath  a  native  king  to  plead,'  he  cries,  '  bound  by  so 
many  covenants,  benefits  and  honours  to  the  welfare 
of  his  people,  why  he  through  the  contempt  of  all 
Laws  and  Parlaments,  the  onely  tie  of  our  obedience 
to  him,  for  hib  owne  wills  sake,  and  a  boasted  prae- 

'  Bmurt,  Msl.  0/  Omt  Time  \.  64. 
■  Hasaon,  Lift  cf  MMcn  3.  718. 


*"  Introduction 

rogative  unaccountable,  after  sev'n  years  warring  and 
destroying  of  his  best  subjects,  overcom,  and  yeilded 
prisoner,  should  think  to  scape  unquestionable,  as  a 
thing  divine,  in  respect  of  whom  so  many  thousand 
Christians  destroy'd,  should  lye  unaccounted  for,  pol- 
luting with  their  slaughterd  carcasses  all  the  land 
over,  and  crying  for  vengeance  against  the  living  that 
should  have  righted  them'  (21.  14ff.).  Entertaining 
such  views  of  his  king,  to  whom  loyalty  and  obe- 
dience would  now  mean  only  a  base  compliance, 
Milton  was  very  strongly  of  opinion  that  the  sword 
of  justice  above  the  king  ought  to  do  its  work.  Con- 
vinced in  his  own  mind  of  the  king's  guilt  and  well 
merited  punishment,  he  ranged  himself  in  the  most 
uncompromising  allegiance  on  the  side  of  Cromwell, 
Ireton,  and  Bradshaw,  who  had  long  since  resolved 
upon  the  tyrant's  death. 


III.  Purpose. 
The  main  purpose  of  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Mag- 
istrates is  therefore  very  plain.  It  is  a  justification  of 
the  thoughts  and  intents  of  all  those  in  England  who 
hated  tyranny,  and  who  held  it  to  be  simple  justice 
that  a  perfidious  monarch  should,  after  fair  trial,  re- 
ceive due  punishment  for  high  crimes  and  misdemea- 
nors. The  long  title  of  this  treatise  lays  down  Mil- 
ton's thesis  'that  it  is  lawfull  to  call  to  account  a 
Tyrant  or  wicked  King  and  after  due  conviction  to 
depose,  and  put  him  to  death.'  It  was  not  the  in- 
tention of  Milton  to  disparage  monarchy,  however, 
although  he  combats  the  theory  of  divine  right,  and 
maintains  that  the  original  of  power  is  in  the  people. 
He  puts  the  case  of  the  people  against  a  wicked  king, 
with  special  reference  to  Charles  I,   and  gives  illus- 


Purpose  xiif 

trations  from  past  ages  of  the  overthrow  and  deposit- 
ion of  tyrants.  Bft  his  purpose  was  not  to  glorify 
the  republican  form  of  government,  nor  tc  derogate 
from  the  fair  fame  of  good  kings.  In  his  reference, 
in  the  Second  Defence,  to  his  motives  in  writing  this 
treatise,  he  says,  'Without  any  immediate  or  special 
application  to  Charles,  I  shewed  in  an  abstract  con- 
sideration of  the  question,  what  might  lawfully  be 
done  against  tyrants'  (Bchn  I.  260).  While  this  state- 
ment must  be  discounted,  for  Milton  did  make  imme- 
diate and  special  application  to  Charles,  as  we  have 
already  pointed  out,  still  it  remains  true  that  he  had 
no  quarrel  with  the  monarchic  principle  itself.  In 
later  years  he  was  delighted  because  Queen  Christina 
of  Sweden  praised  his  reply  to  Salmasius.  In  his 
panegyric  of  the  Queen  of  Sheba  of  the  North,  he  says : 
•When  the  critical  exigencies  of  my  country  de- 
manded that  I  should  undertake  the  arduous  and  in- 
vidious task  of  impugning  the  rights  of  kings,  how 
happy  am  I  that  I  should  meet  with  so  illustrious,  so 
truly  a  royal  evidence  to  my  integrity,  and  to  this 
truth,  that  I  had  not  written  a  word  against  kings, 
but  only  against  tyrants,  the  spots  and  pests  of  roy- 
alty '  (Bohn  1.  249).  Whatever  Milton's  honest  pur- 
pose may  have  been,  his  contention  that  'all  men 
naturally  are  born  free,'  his  theory  of  the  contractual 
origin  of  society  and  government,  his  enunciation  of 
the  doctrine  of  the  sovereignty  of  the  people,  of  the 
derivative  character  of  all  kingly  rule,  of  the  equality 
of  all  persons  before  the  law,  and  his  declaration  of 
the  right  of  'any  who  have  the  power'  to  depose  or 
put  to  death  a  wicked  king,  give  the  general  reader 
the  impression  that  he  was  a  republican  of  the  most 
thorough-going  kind.  Aubrey,  one  of  his  earliest  bi- 
ographers, so  understood  him:   'Whatever  he  wrote 


""'  Introduction 

against  monarchie  was  out  of  no  animositie  to  the 
king's  person,  or  out  of  any  faction  or  interest,  but 
out  of  a  pure  zeale  to  the  Liberty  of  Mankind,  which 
he  thought  would  be  greater  under  a  free  state  than 
under  a  monarchiall  government.    His  being  so  con- 
versant in  Livy  and  the  Roman  authors,  and  the  great- 
nes  he  saw  donne  by  the  Roman  commonwealth,  and 
the  vertue  of  their  great  commanders  [captaines]  in- 
duc't  him  to  it.'  1    When  he  wrote  this  treatise  Milton 
seems  to  have  been  indifferent  to  the  form  of  govern- 
ment, so  long  as  liberty  was  insured  to  the  subject. 
If  he  welcomed  the  republic,   he  did  so  because  it 
meant  to  him  the  dawn  of  a  new  day  of  political  and 
mdividual  freed,™  in  England.    In  his  former  writ- 
mgs   he   had  not   used   a   single   expression  against 
royalty;  on  the  contrary,  he  had  defended  the  rights 
of  the  crown  against  the  pretensions  of  the  Anglican 
prelates.    In  proposing  a  plan  for  the  reform  of  the 
church,  his  model  had  been  monarchical  government. 
The  Tenure  of  Kitu/s  and  Magistrates  was  written,  there- 
fore,  not  as  a  protest  against  the  institution  of  roy- 
alty, but  as  a  protest  against  a  wicked  king   and  as 
a  defence  of  resolute  upholders  of  human  liberty,  not 
because  they  were  democrats  and  republicans,   but 
because  they  were  earnest  and  vigorous  in  the  put- 
tmg   down  of  tyranny,    and   in   the  setting   up  of  a 
righteous  rule  in  England. 


IV.  Leading  Ideas. 
When  we  attempt  to  analyze  the  ideas  set  forth  in 
this  treatise,   and  now  for  the  first  time  applied  with 
astonishing  vigor  and  frankness  to   a  great  political 

>  C.lMo„./cr  Lif,  cf  MiUcn,  app.   to  Lh:.  .f  Edw.  „„d  Jck^ 
Phthpi,  ed.  Godwin,  p.  841. 


Leading  Ideas  xv 

crisis  in  English  history,  we  find  that  Milton  is  devel- 
oping his   philosophy  of  freedom.     In   his  previous 
writings,   all   o;   them    timely   performances,   he   had 
contended  for  religious  and  domestic  freedom,  for  a 
free   interpretation   of  the   Bible,    for  free  education, 
for  liberty  of  investigation,  of  speech,  of  the  press ; ' 
in  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates  he  was  to  re- 
emphasize  most  of  these  ideas,  and  to  make  his  first 
•i^    plea  for  civil  liberty,  to  anticipate  modem  thought  in 
';;     the   statement    and   defence   of  great    and   generous 
i|    principles.     In  the  compact  and  weighty  pages  of  this 
pamphlet,   he   presents   the   following   leading   ideas, 
which    were    to   command    such   attention    from   the 
whole  'i  Europe  in  their  elaborated  form,  in  the  Lat- 
in pei.^yds  of  the  replies  to  Salmasius  and  Morus  :— 
(1)  All  men  naturally  were  bom  free  (9.  24);   (2)  as  a 
result  of  a  voluntary  compact,  kings  and  magistrates 
were  appointed  by  the  people   as  deputies  and  com- 
missioners,   repositories    of    communicated    and    en- 
trusted power  (9.  31 «.) ;    (3)  laws  were    invented  by 
the  people  as  checks  to  confine  and  limit  the  author- 
ity of  magistrates  (10.  21fr.);  (4)  bonds  or  covenants 
were   also   imposed   upon  rulers  to  compel   them   to 
observe  the  laws  which   the   people  had  made  (11. 
9ff.);    (5)   the    power   of  kings   and   magistrates   re- 
mains fiindamentally   in  the  people   as  their   natura' 
birthright  (11.  7ff.);  (6)  the  king  or  magistrate  may 
be   chosen  or  rejected,    retained  or  deposed  by   the 
people  (15.  Uff.);  (7)  men  should  be  governed  by  the 
authority  of  reason  (1.  1,  et  passim).     Commenting  on 
these   political   maxims   for    a   new   society,    Geffroy 
says :  '  Milton  was  not  a  practical  statesman,  and  his 
plans  for  a  future  social  fabric  were  too  often  pure 


^  See  his  own  statement  iu  Sec.  Dtf.  (Bohn  1.  257  ff.). 


ivi  iKtroductkn 

Utopias,  but  he  loved  liberty  passionately,  he  conse- 
crated to  her  defence  his  entire  life,  with  an  elevation 
of  spirit,  a  generosity  of  soul,  which  distinguished  him 
from  all  his  compatriots  and  all  his  contemporaries. 
He  is  worthy  of  being  numbered  with  the  precursors 
of  our  eighteenth  century,  and  his  writings  offer  to  the 
historian  and  the  philosopher  the  curious  and  sublime 
spectacle  of  a  new  society  commencing  to  be  bom." 
But  if  Milton's  main  purpose  in  writing  this  attack 
on  tyranny  was  to  lay  down  the  program  of  consti- 
tutional liberty,  his  secondary  aim  was  to  chastise 
his  former  fritjnds  the  Presbyterians,  and  to  pour  out 
the  bitterest  vials  of  his  wrath  upon  their  inconsistent 
divines.  The  controversial  character  of  his  treatise 
is  indeed  very  marked.  Stern  calls  the  acrimonious 
attack  on  the  Presbyterians  the  shell  of  the  pamphlet, 
of  which  the  abstract  argument  on  the  origin  of  govern- 
ment, and  the  right  to  depose  and  punish  a  tyrant,  is 
the  kernel.'  According  to  the  Second  Defence  (Bohn 
1.260),  it  was  the  inconsistent  conduct  of  the  ministers 
which  impelled  Mihon  to  write  this  exposure  of  their 
inconstancy  and  effrontery.  Not  only  as  the  greatest 
opponents  of  his  goddess,  Liberty,  but  as  his  own 
personal  foes,  did  Milton  eagerly  embrace  'he  oppor- 
tunity to  reveal  their  various  shortcomings  of  thought 
and  life.  In  a  sermon  preached  before  the  Houses 
of  Parliament  in  1644  by  the  Rev.  Herbert  Palmer, 
Milton's  tractate  on  divorce  had  been  openly  called 
'  a  wicked  booke  which  deserves  to  be  burnt.'  ■'  The 
■Westminster   Assembly,    displeased    from    the    same 


1  jmphlrls     Politiqufs    ft    ReUginix     de    Milton, 


pp.  224,  225. 

'  Milton  und  seine  Zfit  1.  441. 

'   The  Glasie    of   God'i   Providence   towards   his  Faithfull  Ones.     A 
Sermou  preaclied  before  the  Houses  of  Pailt.,  Aug.  13,  1644. 


Liading  Ideas  xvii 

cause,  had  the  '  libertine ' '  summoned  before  the 
House  of  Lords.  It  was  not  the  nature  of  the  poet 
to  accept  these  strictures  in  a  spirit  of  Christian  for- 
giveness :  from  the  date  of  the  publication  of  his  Colas- 
terion,  references  to  the  Presbyterians  in  Milton's  prose 
and  verse  are  bitter  in  tone.  'From  that  time,'  says 
Orme,  'he  never  failed  to  abuse  the  Presbyterians 
and  the  Assembly.    It  is  painful  to  detract  from  the 

s  fair  fame  of  Milton,  but  even  he  is  not  entitled  to 
vilify  the  character  of  a  large  and  respectable  body 
of  men,  to  avenge  his  private  quarrel.' '  Whether  he 
was  actuated  by  personal  reasons  or  not,  whether  he 
loved  himself  rather  than  truth,  in  thus  turning  upon 
his  former  party,  as  Doctor  Johnson  avers,'  it  was 
not  necessary  for  the  author  of  The  Tenure  of  Kini/i 
and  Magistrates  to  invent  charges  against  the  Presby- 
terian preachers  and  writers.  No  party  ever  laid  it- 
self more  helplessly  open  to  attack.  And  no  contro- 
versialist  ever  fell  more  mercilessly  upon  a  vulnerable 

;  enemy  than  Milton  upon  the  men  who  were  preach- 

'  ing  and  writing  in  a  vain  effort  to  save  'the  Lord's 

:  anointed.'  * 

In  addition  to  their  sermons  in  the  pulpits  of  London, 
the  Presbyterian  divines  expressed  their  new-found 
loyalty  to  the  king  by  sending  out  two  tracts  from 
Sion  College.  The  first,  which  we  have  already  men- 
tione.1,  was  signed  by  47  ministers,  including  Case, 
Gatal:er.  Gower,  Rowborough,  and  Wallis  of  the  West- 
minster Assembly,  and  was  addressed  to  Lord  Fair- 

'  Clement  Walker  calls  Milton  '  a  libertine  that  thlnketh  his 
wife  a  Manacle,'  Hist,  o/  fndtp.^  pt.  2.  199. 

•  Ltfi  and  Timts  0/  Rich.  Baxirr  1.  70. 

■  Li/t  of  Mitten,  in  Works,  ed.  Hawkins  2.  101. 

'  For  a  full  discussion  of  Milton's  relations  with  the  Pres- 
byterians, see  Masson,  Lij    of  Milton  2.  377  and  8.  468  ff. 


Introduclicn 


fax  and  the  Council  of  War,  Jan.  18, 1649.  A  few 
days  later,  another  pamphlet  was  issued  as  a  defence 
against  charges  of  inconsistency.  It  was  entitled, 
A  Vindication  of  the  London  Ministers  from  the  unjust 
Aspersions  upon  their  former  Actings  for  the  Parliament, 
and  was  signed  by  57  ministers.  Still  a  third  deliv- 
erance came  from  the  Presbyterian  ministers  of  Lan- 
cashire, entitled.  The  Paper  called  the  Agreement  of 
the  People  taken  into  Consideration.  William  Prynne 
and  Clemen.  Walker,  for  the  laymen,  issued  a  Decla- 
ration and  Protestation,  and  -ne  former  made  a  very 
long  speech  in  Parliament  on  Dec.  4,  1648,  and  now 
returned  to  the  subject  in  his  Briefe  Memento.  In  all 
these  writings,  the  Presbyterians  used  the  most  force- 
ful language  in  denouncing  the  course  of  the  Army 
and  Independents  as  utterly  opposed  to  the  Solemn 
League  and  Covenant,  that  to  depose  or  to  put  to 
death  the  king  would  be  contrary  to  all  legal  prece- 
dent, to  Scripture,  and  to  the  Oaths  of  Supremacy 
and  Allegiance.  It  was  easy  for  Milton  to  throw 
himself  upon  this  literature,  and  to  compare  the  senti- 
ments of  the  present  with  those  of  the  past,  to  show 
that  these  very  men,  in  sermon  and  in  pamphlet, 
had  formerly  cursed  the  king  as  a  t;,rant,  as  one 
worse  than  Nero  (5.25;  8.  7  ;  38.  10  ff.);  that  they  had 
commended  the  war  against  the  king  (7.  27ff.);  that 
they  themselves  had  broken  the  Oaths  of  Supremacy 
and  Allegiance  (82.  26  ff.),  and  by  making  wai  on  the 
king  and  denying  his  authority  had  absolutely  deposed 
him  (32.34ff.);  and  that  they  had  broken  the  Covenant 
(34. 30ff.),  and  had  really  taken  the  life  of  the  king 
by  robbing  him  of  his  office  and  uignity  (36.  25  If.). 


The  Covenant 


1 


V.  The  Covenant. 

It  was  useless,  he  held,  for  the  Presbyterians  to 
defend  their  former  actions  by  appealing  to  a  certain 
clause  in  the  Covenant.  But  to  understand  Milton's 
contemptuous  reference  to  the  '  fine  clause  of  the 
'  riddling  Covenant,"  it  is  necessa'  to  pause  for  a  mo- 
ment to  consider  this  bone  of  cuntention  among  all 
parties  in  the  last  year  of  Charles'  reign.  The  Solemn 
League  and  Covenant  of  August,  1643.  was  based 
upon  the  Scottish  National  Covenant  of  1688,  which 
in  its  turn  had  been  imported  from  France.  A  religious 
pact  between  England  and  Scotland,  it  was  not  only 
a  league  between  two  kingdoms  to  defend  their  civil 
liberties,  but  paved  the  way  for  uniformity  in  church 
matters,  for  the  aboUtion  of  episcopacy,  and  the 
esiablishment  of  Presbyterianism  in  England.  On  its 
acceptance  by  the  English  parliament,  copies  of  the 
document  were  signed  at  Westminster,'  and  in  nearly 
all  the  parishes  of  England  and  Scotland.  The  text 
of  the  Covenant'  was  easy  to  understand,  but  it 
contained  one  clause  which  was  afterwards  to  be 
interpreted  according  as  a  man  turned  to  the  support 
of  king  or  parliament.  This  offending  clause  read  as 
follows :— '  We  shall  with  the  same  sincerity,  reality 
and  constancy,  in  our  several  vocations,  endeavour 
with  our  estates  and  lives  mutually  to  preserve  the 
rights  and  privileges  of  the  Parliaments,  and  the 
liberties  of  the  Kingdoms,  and  to  preserve  and  defend 
the  King's  Majesty's  person  and  authority,  in  the 
preservation    and   defence   of  the  true  Religion  and 

>  The  event  is  described  by  Ne«le,  Hhl.  of  the  Puritans  1.  4G6. 
See  also  Whitelocke,  Afemor.  1.  202. 

•  For  a  full  text  of  the  Covenant  see  Eashworth,  Htsi    Call 
I  6.  478,  479. 

c2 


InmductioH 


Liberties  of  the  Kingdoms;  that  the  world  may  bear 
witneu  with  our  consciences  of  our  loyalty,  and  that 
we  have  no  thoughts  or  intentions  to  diminish  his 
Majesty's  just  power  and  greatness.' '  In  the  first 
Sion  House  tract  the  Presbyterian  ministers  accused 
Cromwell's  party  of  esteeming  the  Covenant  (refer- 
ring of  course  to  the  above  clause)  no  more  than  '  an 
almanack  out  of  date.'  In  their  second  protestation 
they  held  that  '  the  taking  away  the  life  of  the  King, 
in  the  present  way  of  Trial  is,  not  only  not  agreeable 
to  any  word  of  God,  the  principles  of  the  Protestant 
Religion  (never  yet  stained  with  the  least  drop  of 
bloud  of  a  King)  or  the  fundamental  constitution  and 
government  of  this  Kingdom,  but.  contrary  to  them, 
as  also  to  the  Oath  of  Allegiance,  the  Protestation 
of  May  5,  1641,  and  the  Solemn  League  and  Covenant: 
from  all,  or  any  of  which  Engagements,  we  know  not 
any  power  on  earth,  able  to  absolve  us  or  others." 
The  ambiguous  clause  of  the  Covenant  follows,  and 
the  citizens  are  exhorted  to  hold  to  it  rather  than  to 
commit  the  sin  of  perjury,  and  so  draw  upon  them- 
selves and  the  kingdom  the  blood  of  their  sovereign.' 
Prynne  also  quotes  the  '  fine  clause '  ^nd  thus  continues : 
'  This  Covenant  you  have  all  taktn  yourselves  (some 
of  you  often)'  and  imposed  it  on  all  three  Kingdomes: 
And  will  it  not  stare  in  your  faces  your  consciences, 
and  engage  God  himselfe,  and  all  three  Kingdorncs. 
as  one  man  against  you,  if  you    should  proceed  to 

'  A  Serityiti  and  Faithf.  Rfpres.  etc.,  p.  7. 

•  A  Vinduation  of  the  Ministers  of  tht  Gospel .  .  .  wi't/i  a  sfiorl 
Exhortation  to  their  People  to  keep  close  to  their  Cirvenant- tngagemeni 
l,p.  5ff. 

»  Besides  the  national  pledge,  there  -were  local  voluntary 
covenants,  by  which  groups  of  individuals  bound  themselves  to 
sustain  the  parliamentary  cause  and  to  be  faithful  to  one  another. 
See  Mem.  of  Col,  Hutchinson,  p.  143. 


The  Ccvnaitt 


depose  the  King,  destroy  his  person  or  disinherit  his 
posterity?  yea,  bring  certaine  mine  upon  you  and 
yours  as  the  greatest  Covenant  breakers,  and  most  per- 
jured Creatures  under  Heaven.'  *  Again  he  says ; 
*  Consider  that  Scotland  and  Ireland  are  joynt  tenants, 
at  least  wise  tenants  in  Common  with  us  in  the  King, 
as  their  lawfull  Soveraigne  and  King,  as  well  as  ours : 
and  that  the  Scuts  delivered  and  left  his  person  to  our 
Commissioners  at  Newcantle,  upon  this  expresse  con- 
dition :  That  no  violence  should  be  offered  to  his 
Person,  etc.,  according  to  the  Covenant."  The  Pres- 
byterians supported  their  constant  quotation  of  this 
clause  by  trying  to  prove  from  Scripture  that  oaths, 
trusts,  and  covenants  were  broken  only  by  sinful  men. 
Yet,  however  dogmatic  the  divines  and  Prynne  were 
on  this  question,  others  construed  the  loyal  clause  in 
quite  a  different  sense.  John  Price  reflects  this  dif- 
ference of  opinion.  '  The  Presbyterian,'  he  observes, 
'  pleads  Covenant-engaging  conformity  (as  they  urge) 
with  the  Church  of  Scotland :  The  Parliamenteer  pleads 
Covenant,  engaging  to  preserve  the  rights  and  jiriviledgrs 
of  Parliament :  The  Royalist  pleads  Covenant,  engaging 
to  preserve  and  defend  the  Kings  Majesties  Person  and 
Authority:  The  Armists  plead  Covenant,  engaging  to 
preserve  the  liberties  of  the  Kingdome,  etc.  So  that  you 
have  made  the  Covenant  a  meere  contradictious  thing, 
like  unto  one  of  the  Diabolicall  Oracles  of  the  Heathens, 
speaking  nothing  certaine  but  ambiguities."  Another 
critic,  this  time  a  textual  expert,  complains  that  the 
Presbyterians  make  'a  stop  at  Authority,'  'And  thus 

'  A  Britfe  Memento,  p.  8. 

"  A  Brirfe  Memmto,  p.  18.  The  clause  Is  quoted  In  full  on 
p.  89.  See  a]so  his  Speech  delivereii  in  the  House  of  Commons,  Dec.  4, 
164S,  pp.  17, 18,  for  a  furious  attack  upon  the  Covenar'-breakers 

•  Cierico-Classicum,  p.  27. 


'""  IniroductioH 

our  English  sentence*  are  read  with  Scotch  comma's 
and  periods,  and  the  Covenant  made  to  speak  what 
it  never  meant,  and  Covenanters  to  undertake  absolute- 
ly what  they  promise  but  conditionally,  by  the  Scotch 
Artificers,  who  make  it  a  nose  of  wax.'  >  That  Milton 
was  fully  justified  in  heaping  contempt  upon  the 
Presbyterians  for  using  Scotch  commas  and  periods 
in  their  cavilous  reading  of  the  '  unnecessariest  clause ' 
(8.  1 ;  .S3.  1 :  .98.  27;  35.  19;  86.  9;  36.  16),  we  have  it 
on  the  evidence  of  Whitelocke  that  the  Scotch  them- 
selves had  changed  their  minds  as  to  its  meaning. 
In  Dec,  1645,  the  Pariiament  of  Scotland  voted  '  that 
the  clause  in  the  covenant,  for  the  defence  of  the 
kings  person,  is  to  be  understood  in  defence  and 
safety  of  the  kingdom."  Yet  in  the  very  next  month 
they  made  a  declaration  to  the  English  Parliament 
that  the  king  was  to  remain  prisoner  with  'safety  to 
his  person."  On  July  27,  1647,  the  Assembly  of  the 
Kirk  of  Scotland  ordered  a  public  fast,  for  the  danger 
to  religion  and  reformation  by  sectaries  in  England, 
'and  that  the  Covenant  may  be  kept."  In  August, 
1647,  when  Fairfax  moved  on  London,  and  the  In- 
dependents gained  the  upper  hand  in  pariiament, 
Whitelocke  mentions  the  increased  emphasis  with 
which  the  pulpits  in  Scotland  urged  'the  necessity 
of  that  kingdom  to  maintain  the  ends  of  the  covenant 
against  all  violation.''  After  this  brief  review  of  the  con- 
troversy, the  plain  reader  will  agree  that  Milton's  many 
criticisms  of  the  riddling  Covenant  were  well  founded.' 

>   The  Jovial  Tintfr  of  England,  p.  7, 
'  Whitelocke,  Mmor.  2.  99. 


•  MJ.  2.  183. 
'  JiiJ.  2.  194. 

'  For  other  references  to  the  Covenant  in  Milton's 
Oiltri:  Art.  Pace  (Bohn  2.  197),  Eiion 


prose,  see 

390),  First  Def.  {1. 193). 


The  Pmtylerian  Divines 


VI.  The  Presbyterian  Divines. 

When  we  turn  to  his  attack  on  the  Presbyterian 
party,  we  are  also  constrained  to  admit  that  Queen 
Truth  was  on  his  side.  Alluding  to  their  sins  in 
general,  he  accuses  them  of  intolerance  to  oth»r  sects 
(41.  19).  of  rendering  assistance  to  the  Royalists  whom 
they  themselves  had  called  reprobates  and  enemies  to 
God  and  his  church  (41.  25),  and  of  opposing  the 
Independents,  who  are.  he  declares,  their  best  friends 
and  associates  (41.  92). 

In  his  criticism  of  the  life  and  conduct  of  the  Pres- 
byterian divines,  however,  we  realize  that  Milton  is 
prejudiced  and  unfair.  His  severest  accusation  is  that 
these  men,  who  formerly  denounced  the  prelatists 
for  being  pluralists.  are  guilty  of  the .  same  offence. 
He  charges  that  'pluralities  greas'd  them  thick  and 
deep  ■  (7.  26) ;  it  would  be  good  if  they  '  hated  plurali- 
ties and  all  kind  of  Simony'  (43.  28);  they  have 
gorged  themselves  '  like  Harpy's  on  those  simonious 
places  and  preferments  of  their  outed  predecessors, 
...  not  to  pluralitie  onely  but  to  multiplicitie '  (51. 
18  if.) :  they  have  followed  '  the  hot  sent  of  double 
livings  and  Pluralities,'  etc.  (56. 31  ff.).  In  his  History  of 
England,  a  work  begun  at  this  time,  Milton  roundly 
declared  that  the  Presbyterian  ministers  did  not  scrupir; 
'to  seize  into  their  hands,  or  not  unwillingly  to  ac- 
cept (besides  one,  sometimes  two  or  more,  of  the  best 
livings),  collegiate  masterships  in  the  universities, 
rich  lectures  in  the  city,  setting  sail  to  all  winds  (hat 
might  blow  gain  into  their  covetous  bosoms.' '  Neal, 
in  his  History  of  the  Puritans,  is  silent  on  this  question, 
nor  does  Shaw  in  the  latest  and  most  complete  work 

'  msl.  o/  Eng.  (Bohn  B.  238,  289). 


ixhr 


hmduction 


on   the   history   of  the   English    church   during   this 
period'   mention  any  instances  of  Presb.-terian  plu- 
ralism.    Marsden  resents  these  charges  w;"    asperity 
They  are,  he  says,  simply  the  result  of  Milton's  harsh 
and  vindictive  mood,  his  attempt  to  avenge  himself 
upon  the  Westminster  /.ssembly."    Masson,  while  he 
criticizes  Milton  for  his  •  somewhat  ungenerous  sum- 
mary   (48.26ff.)    of  the   history   of  the   Westminster 
Assembly,- •  adduces  several  instances  where  leading 
Presbyterian  divines  accepted  lectu'eships  at  the  uni- 
versities   or  in  the  city,«   but  makes  no  mention  of 
ordinary   cases,    where  two   or   more  benefices  were 
held  by  Presbyterian  ministers.     Owing  to  his  preju- 
dices, Milton  may  have  unduly  magnified  a  few  cases 
of  this  kind,  yet,  in  spite  of  exaggeration,  there  was 
some  ground  for  his  repeated  accusations.     AtUched 
to  a  proclamation   of  Sir  Thomas  Fairfax  in   1847 » 
there  is  a  statement  that  according  to  •  the  petition 
of  many  thousands  of  the  poore  sequestered  clergie 
of  England  and  Wales,'  ■those  who  are  put  into  our 
places  [Presbyterian  divines]  labour  by  all  means  to 
stir  up  the  people,  and  to  involve  this  kingdom  in  a 
new  war,  and  are  generally  men  ignorant  and  unable 
to  instruct  the  people,  and  many  of  then-  ire  scandal- 
ous in  their  practices,  if  impartially  examined;  and 
divers  of  them  hold  three  or  four  of  the  best  bene- 
fices, whilst  divers  other  churches  are  void  and  without 
any  constant  preachers.'    In  a  tract  published  in  1646 
Thomas  Tookey,  M.  A.,  charges  Mr.  John  Yaxley  with 
exacting  'the  worldly  sweet  of  two  distinct  congre- 

'  W.  A.  Shaw,  Uiti.  0/  i    -.  Church. 

*  Hitt.  of  Later  Pun/am.  p.  86. 

•  Masson,  Li/t  of  ifillon  4.  72. 

*  Masson,  Life  8.  469. 

•  a™/,  PamphUt!,  Br.  Museum,  325,  420  cat.  5. 


Tht  Prttiyitrian  Divines  xxv 

pition,/  Yaxley,  he  ,ay,.  -had  peeped  inf,  murh 
lope,  so  that,  tho  «.„  he  could  not;  now  >he  can 
account  both  nonresidency  and  sabred  thievery  dearly 
lawful  gamful,  hopeful,  and  netdful.-  In  another 
pamphlet  specific  instances  are  not  given,  but  the 
general  charge  .s  boldly  made.  •!  could  instance  in 
many  places,  says  this  anonymous  foe  of  the  Pres- 
bytenan  clergy,  -where  superstitious  and  blind  buzzards 
were  put  out  of  their  livings,  and  s,„ne  of  the  ortho- 
dox  men  [Presbyterians!  put  in  their  roomes,  and  when 
they  had  got  good  livings  were  they,  or  are  they 
contented?   Some   hold   livings   in    the   country,    and 

to  take  the  fleece.    Some  hold  two  or  three  livings 

they  can  find  a  greater,  nay,   they    will   fight  for  a 
better  hvmg   rather   than  lose  if     In  view  of  this 
contemporary  evidence,  however  prejudiced  some  of 
It  may  be,  we  must  agree  that  it  bears  out  Miltons 
fr,if  ^TT  """  "■'  P^^by'^rian  ministers  were 
WhX  ,?'     "n™"  **  P'"'"^''"'  ^'^-^  of  pluralism. 
ist«s W^'lr  "h     •^«=^%<=.'"Symen  -mutinous  min- 
isters   (56^28),    'dancing   divines'  (7.15),   -doubling 
divines'   (9.  17),    'prevaricating  divines '   (35.  27)     'f 
covetous  and  ambitious  generation  '  ,51   !■)      a4\ur 
bers  of  the  civil  affairs'  (43.  9),  he  may  also  be  well 
withm   the   truth,  but  when    he  denounces  them   as 
being     covn   tongues   of  falshood   and   dissention' 
«o   oV'  ."""'"'"^   °f  sedition'  (38.  28)   'firebrands' 
(89.  2),    It   must  be  said   that    he  is  descending   to 
coarse  abuse.     In  the   most   scandalous   passage  of 
this  treatise  (48.8fr.)  he  accuses  them  of  meddlesome- 
ness, of  neglecting  their  studies,  of  laziness,  of  being 

'  ^»  /mpection/cr  SfMlual  /mprcr-rm^i,  etc.,  p,  5. 
Th,  CUrgy  in  thrir  Cclers.  etc.,  p.  41. 


""I'i  Introductim 

tyrants  over  other  men's  consciences,  of  covetousness, 
of  simony,  of  pride,  of  gluttony,  of  hypocrisy,  of  being 
pulpit  firebrands.  Not  content  with  saying  all  these 
things,  he  returns  to  the  charge  in  the  second  edition 
of  his  book,  repeats  his  accusation  ^pluralism  (51.  ISff.) 
and  formulates  a  new  indictment  in  the  amusing  pas- 
sage (55.  7  ff.)  in  which  the  ministers  are  called  '  nimble 
motionists,'  time-servers,  careless  of  all  considerations 
except  their  own  material  advantage.  In  the  year 
which  elapsed  between  the  publication  of  the  first 
and  the  second  edition,  he  also  happened  upon  a 
Presbyterian  pamphlet  written  as  far  back  as  1643, 
which  he  used  as  a  postscript  text  for  further  abuse 
of  his  clerical  foes.'  The  title  of  this  tract,  Scrip- 
ture and  Reason,  is  a  fitting  introduction  to  our  next 
topic,  Milton's  Use  of  Scripture. 


VII.  Use  of  Scripture. 

In  the  seventeenth  century.  Scripture  and  reason 
were  the  touchstones  for  Puritan  arguments  on 
nearly  every  subject.  It  was  the  common  custom 
to  prove  anything  from  the  Bible,  sometimes  with 
the  consent  of  reason,  sometimes  in  defiance  of  com- 
mon sense.  The  poet  Waller,  for  instance,  made  a 
speech  in  the  House  of  Commons  in  objection  to 
the  bill  to  enforce  the  burial  of  the  dead  in  woollen 
shrouds,  and  thought  he  had  proved  his  case  when 
he  cited  the  evangelist  who  has  recorded  that  Christ 
was  buried  in  linen.  And  if  the  Bible  was  used  with 
advantage  as  an  authority  on  general  subjects,  it  was 
believed  by  Milton,  and  all  Puritans,  that  no  one  could 
impose,  believe,  or  obey  aught  in  religion,  but  from 

■  Bee  note  on  61.  86. 


Use  of  Scripture  xxvii 

the  word  of  God  only.'     Inasmuch  as  the  subject's 
relation  to  his  prince  involved  questions  of  conduct, 
the  Bible  was  regarded  as  an  authority  on  such  themes 
as  the   divine  right  of  kings  and  the  legitimacy  of 
armed  resistance  to  tyrar>«      The  translation  of  the 
Old  Testament  by  Lu'htt  i.iuplied  his  followers,  and 
the  Calvinists  also,  \i  th  an  arseiia.    .f  arguments  on 
political  questions.      'lit   stcirmy  h  story  of  the  Jews 
afforded  precedents  tc   ihf  u-i!v'>ld'jrs  of  divine  right, 
of  passive  resistance,   and  of  tyrannicide.     Needless 
to  say,  the  teachings   of  the   law  and  the  prophets 
were  regarded  as  of  equal  authority  with  the  precepts 
of  Jesus  and  the  apostles.     '  Calvin  had  set  forth  in  his 
lectures,'  says  Weill,  'that  it  would  be  chimerical  to 
wish  to  transform  all  the  laws  of  Moses  into  laws  for 
modern  society.     Yet  in  spite  of  his  objection,  the 
political  government  of  the  Hebrews  seemed  to  the 
religionists  of  the  reformed  party  a  model  to  copy  in 
all  its  details :  and  the  example  of  the  monarchy  of 
Israel,  so  often  denounced  by  the  prophets  and  over- 
thrown by  insurrectionists  inspired  by  God  himself, 
fortified   their   hatred    of  despotism,    and    their   con- 
fidence in  ultimate  s-ccess."    The  Protestants,  how- 
ever, were  in  two  camps,   as  far  as  jjolitical  theory 
was  concerned.     Although  Luther  and  Calvin  were 
somewhat  ambiguous,  the  former  was  more  a  defender 
of  the  theory  of  the  divine  right    of  kings  than  of 
civil  liberty ;  the  latter  advised  passive  resistance,  but 
by   his  utterances  against  tyranny  encouraged  such 
disciples  as  Knox  and  Goodman  in  more  revolutio- 
nary principles.    The  Lutheran  defenders  of  despotism 
naturally  attached  more  weight  to  the  teachings  of 
the    New    Testament,    especially    the    Pauline    and 

'  Of  Trut  Rtligion,  etc.  (Bohn  2.  513). 

'  Its   TtUorits  sur  l<  Pouvoir  Rtyal  en  Fraiue,  p.  82. 


*""'  IniroJuciion 

Petrine  dicta  on  unreserved  submission  to  magistrates. 
The  Protestant  defenders  of  civil  liberty,  Knox,  Buchan- 
an, and  Milton,  for  example,  emphasized  the  rebell- 
ions and  cases  of  tyrannicide  in  the  history  of  Israel, 
and  did  their  best  to  explain  away  the  awkward  pas- 
sages in  the  New  Testament. 

Certain  texts  and  instances  in  both  the  old  and  the 
new  Scriptures  became  loei  classici  for  controv'ersialists. 
The  friends  of  monarchy  advanced  the  following  leading 
arguments  from  the  Bible:— (1)  When  David  had  Saul 
at  his  mercy,  he  refused  to  kill  the  Lord's  anointed : 
(2)  God  punished  Israel  because  of  her  revolt  against 
Nebuchadnezzar,  her  lawful  sovereign  :  (3)  when  David, 
in  Psalm  51,  confessed  the  murder  of  Uriah,  he  did 
not  admit  that  he  had  sinned  against  his  subject,  but 
only  against  God:  (4)  according  to  1  Sara.  8.  11-18, 
God  conferred  certain  rights  upon  kings;  (5)  in  the 
New  Testament  they  relied  mainly  upon  three  texts- 
Rom.  13. 1 :  1  Pet.  2. 13, 14 ;  Tit.  3. 1 :  (6)  Luke  20.  25, 
and  the  fact  that  Jesus  submitted  to  Pilate,  were  also 
often  cited.  On  the  other  hand,  the  opponents  of  the 
theory  of  divine  ■  ight  justified  rebellion  to  tyrannical 
princes  on  these  Biblical  grounds:— (1)  Ehud,  Jael, 
Jehu,  and  Judith  killed  tyrants,  being  sent  by  the  Lord 
as  liberators;  (2)  David  did  not  kill  Saul,  for  their 
quarrel  was  a  matter  of  private  enmity;  but  at  any 
rate  the  Lord  approved  his  armed  resistance  to  the 
forces  of  the  king;  (8)  the  priestly  town  of  Libnah  re- 
volted against  Jehoram'  (Weill  says  that  Libnah  was 
a   sort   of  La   Rochelle    to    the   Protestant   writers); 

(4)  the  tribes   of  Israel   fell   away   from   Rehoboam  ; 

(5)  the  Maccabees  repelled  the  Syrian  tyrant. 

This  searching  of  the  Scriptures  for  arguments  to 
support  political  theories  had  been  in  full  swing  for 
'  See  1  Kings  8.  22. 


Use  of  Scripture  xxix 

over  a  centun  when  Milton  undertook  to  review  the 
well-worn  citations  in  this  treatise.  He  dwells  upon 
the  rebellion  of  Jeroboam  against  Rehoboam  (16.  6), 
the  deposition  of  Samuel  (16.  12),  and  the  three  eases 
of  tyrannicide— by  Ehud  (20.  29),  by  Samuel  (22.  33), 
and  by  Jehu  (23.  6).  In  all  these  citations  he  uses 
Scripture  fairly,  but  in  other  places,  where  the  plain 
sense  of  the  text  or  incident  is  against  him,  he  does 
not  hesitate  to  wrest  the  Scripture  to  his  purpose  as 
unscrupulously  as  any  of  his  opponents.  When  he 
quotes  Deut.  17.  14,  '  I  will  have  a  king  set  over  me," 
he  interprets  these  words  as  referring  solely  to  the 
people's  right  of  choice,  thus  deliberately  ignoring  the 
words  in  the  next  verse,  '  Thou  shalt  in  any  wise  set 
him  king  over  thee,  whom  the  Lord  thy  God  shall 
choose '  (15.  20).  The  Royalist  argument  from  Psalm 
51,  though  it  seems  absurd  to  the  modern  mind,  was 
hard  to  meet  with  a  direct  answer,  so  Milton  brushes 
it  aside  with  the  remark  that,  after  all,  these  are  only 
'  the  patheticall  words  of  a  Psalme  '  (14.  18).  The  New 
Testament  texts  aie  also  treated  with  a  high  degree 
of  ingenuity.  He  cannot  get  round  the  simple  words 
of  1  Pet.  2.  13,  16,  where  Christians  are  enjoined  to 
obey  superior  powers,  so  he  adds  the  phrase  •  as  free 
men,'  a  refinement  used  by  Christopher  Goodman  in 
1558.'  Paul's  dictum  in  Kom.  18.  1,  'For  there  is  no 
power  but  of  God,'  is  explained  as  referring  not  to 
tyrannical,  but  tj  just  power  only.  This  gloss  upon 
the  text  had  also  been  used  by  Goodman.  The  use 
which  Miho'.i  makes  of  Rev.  13.  2  is  an  excellent 
example  r,f  how  eagerly  he  strained  after  any  text 
which  might  seem  to  uphold  his  argument  (17.  26). 
Other  New  Testament  texts  quoted  by  him  are  also 
arbitrary,  and  seem  ineffective  to  present-day  readers, 
*  S«e  note  on  17. 11, 


""''  Introduclion 

but  were  no  doubt  regarded  as  forceful  citations  by 
Milton's  contem])oraries.'  The  pamphlets  of  such 
writers  as  Prynne,  Walker,  and  Filmer,  and  indeed  all 
the  Stuart  controversialists,  abound  in  what  seems  to 
us  a  tiresome  and  even  ludicrous  use  of  Scripture. 
Compared  with  these  and  other  pamphleteers,  Milton 
is  very  sane  in  his  exegesis,  and  moderate  in  his 
citation  of  texts.  A  ^'rotesque  use*  of  Scripture  in 
this  pamphlet  should  also  be  mentioned,  namely,  the 
allusion  to  Adonibezek's  sufferings  (55.  21),  and  the 
story  of  the  priests  of  Be!  (56.35).  These  illustrations 
are  characteristic  of  Milton's  prose. 


Vin.  Background  of  Political  Thought. 
Before  discussing  the  special  sources  of  Milton's 
political  doctrines,  it  will  be  necessary  to  pass  in 
review  several  of  the  main  ideas  which  he  inherited 
from  the  theorists  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and  which 
had  their  roots  in  the  writings  of  the  Middle  Ages. 
The  contractual  origin  of  society  and  goveinment, 
the  sovereignty  of  the  people,  the  authority  of  reason, 
the  divine  right  of  kings— all  these  topics  had  engaged 
the  argumentative  powers  of  sixteenth  century  pam- 
phleteers. Certain  great  movements  of  thought  had 
contributed  to  the  furtherance  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty  in  that  age— (1)  the  struggle  between  the 
papacy  and  the  rising  power  of  kings,  (2)  the  Prote- 
stant Reformation,  with  its  appeal  to  the  Bible  and 
reason   as   the  sole  authorities  of  life  and  conduct, 

•  See  aotes  on  24.  2,  24.  S,  and  24.  12. 

'  For  examples  of  this  hamorous  use  of  Scripture  tee  Srm. 
Dif.  (Bohn  8.  86) ;  Ibid.  (Bohn  \  74) ;  Bras  Ch.  Gmt.  against  Pr,l. 
(Bohn  2  468);  Ft:st  Drf.  (Bohn  1.41,  211),  etc. 


BackgnunJ  of  Political  Thought  xxxi 

(3)  the  influence  of  the  Renascence  in  resurrecting 
the  classics  of  Greece  and  Rome,  with  their  republic- 
anism, their  passion  for  liberty,  and  their  approval  of 
tyrannicide,  (4)  the  increased  study  of  Roman  law, 
and  (5)  the  rise  of  the  historical  spirit,  and  of  the 
modem  historical  method.  All  these  currents  of  thought 
converge  in  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates. 

It  is  one  of  the  remarkable  facts  of  history  that  the 
doctrine  of  the  sovereignty  of  the  people  came  from 
the  bosom  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  the  arch- 
foe  of  modernism,  and  the  determined  obstructer  of 
civil  and  religious  liberty.  Upholders  of  this  church, 
however,  both  in  the  Middle  Ages  and  in  the  sixteenth 
centurj',  emphasized  the  power  of  the  people,  in  order 
to  check  the  growing  independence  of  the  king. 
They  were  not  actuated  by  any  desire  to  promote 
democracy,  but  simply  and  solely  to  belittle  the 
dangerous  rivals  of  the  pope.  •  Civil  power,'  so  wrote 
Pope  Gregory  VII  to  Bishop  Hermann  of  Metz,  '  wa.s 
the  invention  of  worldly  men,  ignorant  of  God  and 
prompted  by  the  devil;  it  needed  not  only  the  as- 
sistance, but  the  authorization,  of  the  church.'  In 
conformity  with  this  teaching,  Marsiglius  of  Padua 
declared  that  the  king  might  be  restrained  or  deposed 
if  he  overpassed  his  prescribed  bounds.  In  order  to 
exalt  the  church,  this  pioneer  of  political  theory  re- 
cognized the  people  as  the  origin  of  all  power  in  the 
state.'  From  the  time  of  Augustine,  the  origin  of 
civil  government  had  been  ascribed  to  Adam's  fall, 
and  Cain  and  Nimrod  were  asserted  to  be  its  first 
founders.  '  The  church  was  therefore  ready  to  admit 
any  form  of  civil  government  that  wou'"  listen  to  her 


'  Poole,  /Itmt.  J/isL  Med.    Thought,  p.  229. 

■  Ofera.  ed.  Ooldasl,  18. 18B. 


*'"'"  Introduction 

claims.    Theoretically  she  had  no  preference  for  mo- 
narchical institutions;  rather,  it  should  seem,  she  was 
inchned  to  promote  a  democratic  sentiment."    This 
principle,  then,  that  the  people  is  supreme,  so  well- 
known  m  the  Middle  Ages,  was  eagerly  seized  upon 
by    the    opponents   of  the   Reformation,   which   was 
Itself  furthered  and  protected  by  the  princes  of  Germany 
and  the  kings  of  England  and  .«weden.     A  school  of 
Jesuit  writers  arose  to  battle  for  the  theory  that  man- 
kind   is  naturally    at   liberty    to    choose    its   form    of 
government.      Towards   the   close    of   the    sixteenth 
century,   they  had  even  become  defenders  of  tyran- 
nicide, and  argued   that  it  was  not  a  sin  to  depose 
or  put  to  death  a  heretical  monarch— for  the  church 
held  that  it  was  a  fundamental  law  of  all  countries 
that  a  sovereign  must  be  a  Roman  Catholic.    Mariana, 
the  Spanish  Jesuit,  openly  approved  the  assassination 
of  Protestant  rulers,'     In  his  able  exposition  of  the 
political  teachings  of  the  Jesuits,  Figgis  sums  up  this 
doctrine   as   follows :-' Power   is   in   the   people,  for 
nature  made  all  men  free  and  equal,  and  there  is  no 
reason  why  one  should  have  one  jurisdiction  rather 
than  another.     The  whole  community,  then,  is  the  im- 
mediate depositary  of  political  power.     But  it  cannot 
exercise  it  directly.    It  must   delegate  its  power  to 
a  king  or  ruling  body,  under  such  conditions  as  shall 
please  it.'' 

In  opposition  to  this  purely  utilitarian  and  secular 
theory  of  the  state  advanced  by  the  defenders  of  the 
papacy,  the  early  Protestant  reformers  set  up  the  theory 
of  the  divine  right  of  kings.  This  also  is  one  of  the 
anomalies  of  history,  that  those  great  religious  leaders, 

'  Poole,  llluslr.  IIisi.  Mrd.    Thought,  p.  281. 
*  De  Rfgt  et  Regis  /mtitutiotu  1.  7. 
'   Tram.  Royal  /list.   Soc.   11.  104. 


Backgnund  of  Political  Thought  xxxiii 

who  put  in  motion  all  the  forces  of  modem  liberty, 
should  have  been  at  the  outset  the  upholders  of 
despotism.  It  was  owing  to  the  force  of  circumstances, 
however,  that  Luther,  Calvin,  Bucer,  and  others  became 
supporters  of  the  regal  power.  Kings  were  their  sole 
protectors  against  the  persecuting  rage  of  the  papacy, 
and  it  was  but  natu  dl  and  reasonable  that  they  should 
magnify  kingly  authority,  in  order  to  combat  the  claims 
of  the  church  to  absolute  sovereignty.  Luther,  there- 
fore, and  his  successors  searched  the  Scriptures  for 
divine  sanction  to  the  rule  and  right  of  kings.  As 
we  have  seen,  they  found  many  texts  to  supi)ort 
their  views ;  hence  the  dogma,  which  was  destined  to 
become  such  a  weapon  of  tyranny  in  the  hands  of 
the  Stuarts,  that  the  king  is  appointed  directly  by  God, 
that  he  is  solutus  legi'ms,  that  he  is  respon.sible  to  God 
alone,  and  that  the  perpetual  duty  of  the  subject  is 
obedience.  But  Luther's  followers,  such  men  as  Knox, 
Gilhy.  and  Poynet,  learned  that  divine  right  was  a 
doctrine  that  could  mean  hindrance  and  oppression, 
instead  of  progress  and  liberty,  and  that  the  Bible 
also  authorized  resistance  to  idolaters  and  tyrants.  In 
the  seventeenth  century,  Protestant  teachers  agreed 
with  the  Jesuits  in  asserting  the  sovereignty  of  the 
people.  We  should  remember,  however,  that  when 
Milton  says  the  power  of  kings  is  derivative  and 
transferred  (12.  8) ;  when  the  author  of  the  Case  of 
the  Army  Truly  Stated  (Oct.  15,  1647)  says,  'All  power 
is  originally  and  essentially  in  the  whole  body  of  the 
people  of  this  nation ' ;  or  when,  in  January,  1649,  the 
committee  of  the  House  of  Commons,  ultra-Protestant 
and  Rome-hating  as  it  was,  voted  'that  the  people, 
under  God,  are  the  original  of  all  just  power ;  that 
the  Commons  of  England  have  the  supreme  authority 
of  this  nation,'  they  were  each  and  all  indebted  to 
d 


I 


"*"  In/roduclioH 

Hildebrand,  and  an  army  of  Romanist  writers,  for 
such  a  theory  of  civil  liberty.  We  can  understand, 
therefore,  that  there  was  a  substratum  of  truth  in  the 
declarations  of  the  Royalists  that  the  revolutionary 
opinions  of  Cromwell's  soldiers  were  the  result  of  the 
propaganda  of  Jesuit  priests,  who  entered  the  ranks 
of  the  army  on  purpose  to  sow  their  anti-monarchical 
opinions.  The  Jesuits  were  not  there  in  the  flesh,  but 
the  writings  of  Molina,  Mariana,  and  Bellarmine  had 
come  to  full  flower  in  The  Grand  Army  Remmslrance, 
in  the  fierce  democracy  of  the  Levelers,  and  in  T}ie 
Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magittratet. 

The  chief  buttress  of  the  theory  of  popular  sov- 
ereignty is  the  idea  of  the  social  contract,  the  conten- 
tion that  the  origin  of  kingship  is  to  be  traced  to 
the  remote  occasion  when  the  multitude,  of  their  own 
accord,  transferred  to  one  of  their  own  number  the 
rights  and  powers  of  the  magistrate.     In  this  treatise, 
Milton  states  this  opinion,  not  as  a  theory,  but  as  a  com- 
monly accepted  fact  (9.31).   Although  this  notion  of  the 
contractual  origin  of  society  and  government  was  an 
inheritance  from  Epicurus,  Polybius,  and  others,'  it 
was  adopted  by  the  mediaeval  upholders  of  the  papacy 
as  a  valuable  argument  for  their  purposes.     Manegold, 
a  priest  of  Lutterbach  in  Alsatia,  who  wrote  in  defence 
of  Hildebrand,  clearly  states  the  famous  theory :  '  Since 
no  one  can  create  himself  emperor  or  king,  the  people 
elevates  a  certain  one  person  over  itself  to  this  end 
that  he  govern  and  rule  it  according  to  the  principle 
of  righteous  government ;  but  if  in  any  wise  he  trans- 
gresses the  contract  by  virtue  of  which  he  is  chosen, 
he  absolves  the  people  from  the  obligation  of  submis- 
sion, because  he  has  first  broken  faith  with  it.'»    This 
'  See  note  on  9.  31. 
■  Poole,  Illmt.  Mid,  Tkmtght,  p.  282. 


Background  of  Political  Thought  xxxv 

plain  statement  was  accepted  by  almost  all  the  political 
theorists  of  the  sixteenth  century,  but  the  defenders 
of  monarchy  argued  that  by  this  agreement  the  people 
siiTendered  their  power  to   the  ruler  and  his  heirs. 
Towards  the  close  of  the  century,  after  the  question 
had  become  very  thoroughly  discussed,  we  find  the 
contractual  idea  imbedded  in  the  maxims  of  the  Three 
Estates  in  1684 :  '  La  royaute  est  un  office,  non  un  her- 
itage.—C'estle  peuple  iou>  e.  \m  qui  dans  I'origine  crea 
les  rois.— L'Etat  est  la  i  ho.se  du  peuple ;  la  souverai- 
nete  n'appartient  pas  aux  princes,  qui  n'existent  que 
par  le  peuple.— Un  fait  ne  prend  force  de  loi  que  par 
la  sanction  des  fitats,  rien  n'est  saint  ni  solide  sans 
leur  aveu.'>    Milton  is  therefore  following  closely  in 
the  footsteps  of  a  long  line  of  thinkers  in  founding 
royalty  on  a  primitive  contract,  the  conditions  of  which 
were  dictated  by  the  people.     And,  like  others  who 
had  gone  before  him,  he  finds  a  sanction  for  such  a 
league  in  the  covenants  of  the  cho.sen  people,  and,  in 
later  history,  in  coronation  oaths  and  pledges.'    On 
this  theory  he  bases  his  arguments  (1)  that  titles  of 
'Sovran  Lord,  natural  Lord,  and  the  like,  are  either 
an-ogancies  or  flatteries'  (12.  17),  (2)  that  the  king  has 
not  a  hereditary  right  to  his  crown  and  dignity  (12.  27), 
(3)  that  kings  are  accountable,  not  only  to  God,  but 
to  the  people  (13.  11),  (4)  that  the  people  may  choose 
or  reject,  retain  or  depose  me  king,  as  they  see  fit  (15. 1 1). 
Out    of   these   doctrines    proceeds    his    outspoken 
declaration  that  the  people  may  take  up  arms  against 
a  tyrant,  'as  against  a  common  pest,  and  destroyer 
of  mankind,  that  it  is  lawful  and  has  been  so  through 
all  ages,   for  any  who   have   the   power  to  convict, 
depose,  and  put  him  to  death.'     Because  this  is  his 
'  BandriUart, /.  Bodin  et  Son  Temps,  p.  10. 
*  See  notes  on  9.  31 ;  12.  4. 

as 


i  IP ' 


iHlrcduclion 


thesis,  The  Tenure  of  Kingt  and  Magiitrates  occupies 
a  unique  place  in  English  literature,  for  it  contains 
the  first  attempt  in  our  language  tn  trace  even  partially 
the  history  of  tyrannicide,  and  it  might  also  be  added 
that  until  the  present  no  later  writer  in  English  has 
supplemented  the  material  gathered  in  this  treatise 
and  in  the  First  De/mcr  of  the  English  People. '  Although 
Milton  was  indebted  to  Buchanan's  dialogue,  DeJure 
Regni  apud  Scotos  (1579),  for  some  references  on  this 
topic,  and  possibly  to  Bodin's  De  Sepublica  (1576),  Ik 
did  research-work  on  his  own  account,  and  has  cited 
here,  and  elsewhere  in  his  writings,  principally  in  his 
First  Df'frnce,  many  quotations  from  the  ancients  on 
the  subject  of  tyranny. 

In  this  pamphlet,  Milton  pays  most  attention  to 
instances  of  tyrannicide  from  Jewish  history,  but  he 
draws  one  important  quotation  from  Seneca  (22.  17) 
and  vny.^es  a  general  statement  concerning  the  practice 
among  the  Greeks  and  Romans  (20. 10).  His  definition 
of  a  tyrant  shows  his  knowledge  of  Aristotle's  opinions 
on  the  subject  (12. 13).  He  also  cites  Euripides  (14. 22), 
Dio  Cassius  (14.  29),  Livy  (16.  20).  and  St.  Basil  (19. 27). 
In  the  second  edition  he  added  a  formidable  array  of 
quotations  from  the  Protestant  theologians. 

This  pamphlet,  however,  was  written  hurriedly,  and 
he  did  not  have  time  to  make  an  exhaustive  study  of 
the  subject.  In  the  days  when  he  toiled  over  the 
pages  of  the  First  Defence  he  was  able  to  go  into  the 
question  more  deeply,  and  perhaps  nothing  in  Milton's 
prose  reveals  the  vast  eitent  of  his  reading  more  than 
his  citations  on  this  theme.  He  quotes  Aristotle 
(Bohn  1.  37.  88,  46),  Sallust  {ib.  1.  38,  39),  Cicero 
(ib.  1.  39),  M.  Aurelius  (ib.  1.  49) ;  he  refers  to  Tiberius 

'  For  a  review  of  the  literature  on  the  subject  cf  tyrannicide 
see  the  Appendijc. 


Background  of  Political  Thought  xxxvii 

as  'a  very  great  tyrant'  (ib.  1.  4«);  the  senate  and 
people  of  Rome  would  have  been  justified  in  pro- 
ceeding against  Domitian  •  according  to  the  custom  of 
their  ancestors,'  and  in  giving  judgment  of  death 
against  him,  as  they  did  once  against  Nero'  {ib.  1.81); 
he  calls  attention  to  Cicero's  praise  of  Brutus  as  a 
saviour  and  preserver  of  the  Commonwealth  yib.  1.90). 
•All  men'  he  says,  -blame  Domitian,  who  put  to 
death  Epaphroditus,  because  he  had  helped  Nero  to 
kill  himself  {ib.  1.  93).  He  points  out  that  Valen- 
tinian  was  slain  by  Maximus  (ib.  1.  106j,  Avitus  was 
deposed  by  the  Roman  senate  (ib.),  Gratian  was  killed 
by  the  soldiers  (i4.).  Diodorus  and  Herodotus  are 
quoted  as  authorities  for  the  stories  of  the  deposition 
of  Egyptian  tyrants,  and  the  former  also  yields  exam- 
ples from  Persian  and  Ethiopian  history  {ib.  1.  121  ff.j. 
Plato,  Aristotle,  Xenophon,  Cicero,  and  Polybius  are 
all  cited  in  rapid  succession  (iJ.  1.  125).  Of  the  poets, 
he  quotes  iCschylus  (it.  1, 126),  Euripides,  and  Sophoc- 
les {ib.  1.  127).  In  a  review  of  the  Roman  historians, 
he  cites  Sallust  {ib.),  Cicero,  Livy,  Tacitus,  Dio  Cas- 
sius  {ib.  i.  128),  Pliny  {ib.  1.  131),  and  Capitolinus 
(ib.  1.  133).  After  quoting  Seneca,  he  continues:  'By 
what  has  been  said  it  is  evident,  that  the  best  of  the 
Romans  did  not  only  kill  tyrants  as  oft  as  they  could, 
and  howsoever  they  could;  but  that  they  thought  it 
a  commendable  and  a  praiseworthy  action  so  to  do, 
as  the  Grecians  had  done  before  them'  (ib.  1.  132). 
In  the  Second  Defence  he  declares  that  the  Greeks 
and  Romans  'are  the  objects  of  our  admiration  be- 
cause of  their  resistance  to  tyrants  and  their  treat- 
ment of  tyrannicides,  whose  brows  they  bound  with 
wreaths  of  laurel  and  consigned  their  memories  to  im- 
mortal fame '  (ib.  1. 217).  The  poets  are  also  eulogized ; 
for  '  I  know  that  the  most  of  them,  from  the  earliest 


^^    I 


■""■"ii  InlroduciioH 

times  to  those  of  Buchanan,  have  been  the  strenuous 
enemies  of  despotism"  (lA.  1,  241). 

Although  he  uses  Protestant  opinions,  he  was  ob- 
hged  to  pass  by  the  sixteenth  cf-ntury  Roman  Catho- 
lic writers  on  this  subject,  for  citations  from  their 
pages  would  have  been  offensive  to  his  readers.  In- 
deed, he  takes  care  to  abuse  the  Jesuit  doctrine  in 
favor  of  tyrannicide,  in  these  words:  -And  let  him 
ask  the  Jesuits  about  him  |Ormond|,  whether  it  be 
not  their  known  doctrine  and  also  practice,  not  by 
fair  and  due  process  of  justice  to  punish  kings  and 
magistrates,  which  we  disavow  not,  but  to  murder  them 
in  the  basest  and  most  assassinous  manner,  if  their 
church  interest  so  require."  But  this  criticism  of  the 
Jesuits  comes  with  bad  grace  from  the  eulogist  of  Har- 
modius,  Brutus,  and  the  other  glorified  assassins  of 
Greece  and  Rome. 


IX.  Sources. 

Turning  now  to  the  special  sources  of  The  Tenure 
of  Kings  and  Magistrates,  we  find  that  Milton's  chief 
debt  is  to  George  Buchanan,  author  of  the  celebrated 
revolutionary  treatise,  De  Jure  Regni  apud  Scotos,  which 
was  published  in  Edinburgh  in  1579.  Buchanan  and 
Knox  were  students  at  St.  Andrews,  and  imbibed 
their  passion  for  popular  rights  and  hatred  of  tyranny 
from  their  teacher,  John  Muir,  who  held  that  kings 
derived  their  power  from  the  people,  could  be  con- 
trolled by  them,  and,  if  tyrannical,  might  be  deposed. 
Knox  expressed  these  views  in  his  argument  against 
Lethington,  to  which  Milton  refers  (28. 21) ;  in  his  famous 
interview  with  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots ;  and  in  the  trea- 
tise  which   gave  such   offence  to  Queen  Elizabeth, 

'  See  Di  Jurt  Regni  nfttd  Scclns,  trans.  Uacftu-lan,  pp.  146, 147. 


Sovrcts  xxxix 

Thf  Momtnui  Rejimeiil  nf  Women.     Milton  was  familiar 
with  the  opinions  of  Knox,  but  he  found  them  system- 
atized in  the  dialogue  of  Buchanan.     We  have  indi- 
cated in  the  notes  the  parallels  between  Milton's  trea- 
tise and  that  of  his  Scottish  mentor,  and  the  reader 
will  observe   what  a  lar^e  number  of  passages  have 
been  paraphrased.     Leading  ideas,  and.  indeed,  many 
facts,  quotations,  and   illustrations,  were  appropriated 
by    (he    English    apologist    for    the    Commonwealth. 
Buchanan  clearly  owes  more  inspiration  to  the  ancient 
republicans  than  to  the  Bible,  but  he  draws  his  argu- 
ments  from    both  sources,    and   in   this  respect  was 
followed    by    Milton.      In  his  dialogue  he  gives  the 
origin  of  the  name  tyrant,'  summarizes  various  defi- 
nitions of  tyranny,'   refers  to  the  fears    which    beset 
tyrants,'   and   to    their   punishment,    and   praises    the 
tyrannicides   of  antiquity.'     He   bases    his  argument 
for  the  sovereignty  of  the  people  on  the  social  con- 
tract.'    Buchanan  also    lays   great   stress    upon   the 
appeal   to  reason,   as  does  Milton.     This  treatise  on 
the  rights  of  the  crown,  dedicated,  perhaps  ironically, 
to  the  young  James  IV  of  Scotland,  Buchanan's  royal 
pupil,   was  destined   to    have   a  profound   influence 
on  English  politics.     The  hatred  which  it  inspired  in 
royalists,  and  the  popular  conception  of  its  close  con- 
nection  with    Tht    Tenure   of  Kings   and    Magistrates, 
were  amply  expressed  in  1683,  when  both  works  were 
publicly  burned  by  the  ever  loyal  prelates  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Oxford. 

The  second  source  of  Milton's  first  work  in  political 
theory  is  to  be    found   in  his  own  youthful  compi- 

'  Dt  Jurt  Rtgni,  pp.  140-142. 

■  Ibid.,  pp.  143,  146. 

'  Hid.,  p.  148. 

«  Ihtd.,  pp.  161 «.,  198,  199. 

•  Hid.,  pp.  91,  95  ff.,  103  B. 


',J 


^,1 

t 


xl 


Inmduction 


lation  of  quotations,   his  Commonplace  Book}     When 
he   came    to   write   his  protest   against  Charles  and 
other  tyrants,   he  turned  to  this  storehouse  for  illus- 
trations and   authorities.    This  book  is,   in  fact,  not 
only  a  guide   to   his  early   reading,  but  shows  the 
political   theory   which   he    had    already   formulated. 
Gooch  remarks  that  Milton's  earliest  political  views 
were  merely  those  of  a  liberal  constitutionalism,'  and 
that  the  Commonplace  Book  reveals  his  conception  of 
the  state  as  an  organism,  his  comprehensive  view  of 
rational  well-being,  his  aristocratical  tendencies,   his 
reverence  for  the  thinkers  of  antiquity,  and,  in  short, 
the  whole  spirit  of  his  political  thinking.    There  are 
in   this  remarkable   book  the   names  of  upwards  of 
eighty  authors  read  by  the  young  scholar— English, 
French,  Italian,  Latin,  and  Greek.     Along  with  the 
instances  and   conclusions  drawn  from    the  original 
authors,  we  have  a  few  original  observations  on  polit- 
ical  theory.     He  wrote  the  facts  and  quotations  in 
English,  French,  Italian,  or  Latin,  as  the  humor  seized 
him.     In  those  earlier  years  he   read  the  following 
authors,  whose  names  he  mentions,  and  whose  thought 
he  was  afterwards  to  incorporate  in  his  first  apology 
for    the    Commonwealth:  ancient    writers— Aristotle, 
Tertullian,Basil, Chrysostom;  French— De Thou, Bodin, 
Girard,  Gilles,  Seysell ;  English— Holinshed,  Camden, 
Gildas,    Stow,    Speed,   Fynes   Morison,  Raleigh,   Sir 
Thomas  Smith,  Selden ;  Scotch— Buchanan ;  German— 
Sleidan;   theologians— Luther,   Calvin,   Peter  Martyr, 
proceedings  of  the  Council  of  Trent ;  jurists— the  Justin- 
ian and  Byzantine  codes.    This  long  array  of  authors 
proves    that    the    Commonplace  Book   lay  at  Milton's 
elbow  when  he  wrote  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Mag- 

■  Ed,  by  Horwood,  and  pobliihed  for  the  Camden  Society,  1878. 

■  Domccratic  Ideas  in  llu  Srvnirtnth  Century,  p.  17a 


Sources  xli 

iatralei.  This  treatise  is  more  heavily  indebted  to 
that  learned  scrap-book  than  any  other  prose  work  of 
Milton,  the  History  of  England,  however,  being  a  close 
second.  In  our  notes  the  reader  will  observe  how 
many  seed-thoughts,  quotations,  and  illustrations  were 
fransferred  from  one  book  to  the  other  by  our  prov- 
ident writer,  and  what  embellishment  they  received 
in  the  process.  A  comparison  of  the  Commonplace 
Book  with  The  Tenure  of  King,  and  Uafi>trate,  h  a 
most  interesting  study  in  literary  evolution.  Milton's 
prose  masterpiece,  The  First  Defe,u:e,  shows  the  com- 
pletion of  the  process.  If  the  Com,nonptaee  Book  is 
the  blade.  The  Tenure  is  the  ear,  and  the  First  De- 
fence IS  the  full  com  in  the  ear.' 

In  discussing  the  subject  of  tyrannicide,  we  have 
already  indicated  some  of  Miltons  indebtedness  to 
ancient  authorities.  It  was  in  reality  owing  to  the 
influence  of  the  Renascence  that  he  was  enabled  to 
bnng  into  this  work  citations  from  Aristotle  and  Eurip- 
ides, from  Cicero  and  Livy,  from  Seneca  and  Dio 
from  Trajan  and  Theodosius;  the  new  learning  also 
made  it  possible  for  him  to  support  his  argument  with 
quotations  from  the  Justinian  and  Byzantine  codes 
of  law. 

It  is  to  the  French  historians  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, however,  that  we  trace  perhaps  the  most  novel 
feature  of  Milton's  contribution  to  the  cause  of  civil 
liberty.    Francis  Hotman  has  the  distinction  of  being 

lo'lfn'^qT^",","?."'"™'"  tke«"/ZV/^,,  see  notes  on 
10. 14,  11.  9,  12.  32,  13, 11,  u.  7,  17.  16,  18.  28,  20. 19,  24. 2.  That 
Ung.  .re  acconntable  to  none  bat  Gbd  le  refoted  In  .  few  line. 

C«nmo,tlcc.  Book,  m  the  Tn,ur,,  and  In  the  FirU  Drfmce. 


.1 


jjj  '< 


xlii 


Introduction 


the  first  modern  historian  to  search  the  annals  of  his 
own  land  in  an  endeavor  to  discover  in  the  practices 
of  earher  generations  proofs  that  the  people  had  set 
up  and  deposed  kings  at  pleasure,  and  had  instituted 
parliament  to  be  a  bridle  to  monarchs.     On  this  ac- 
count, his  Franco-GMia  was  an  epoch-making  book. 
Miltor's  debt   to   Hotman   is  seen  in  his  statements 
regarding  the  coronation  and  election  of  early  French, 
German,  Scottish  and  Arragonian  kings,'  the  origii^ 
and  meaning  of  parliaments,  which  were  intended  to 
be  bridles  to  the  kings,'  instances  of  the  deposition 
of  Prankish  kings,'  his  assertion  that  the  people  is 
the  original  of  power,*  and  that  the  titles  of  dukes 
peers,  and  great  officers  of  the  crown  were   at  first 
not  hereditary,  but  purely  complimentary.'   Milton  also 
drew  considerable  material  for  this  treatise  from  the 
French  historians,  Claude  de  Seysell,  Bernard  Girard 
sometimes  called  Seigneur  du  HaiUan,  and  J.  A   de 
Thou  (Thuanus).     Girard's  flfetoVe  do»  EoU  de  franc 
IS  often  quoted  in  the  Commmplaee  Book.     The  great 
Latin  tomes  of  Thuanus  also  afforded  Milton  a  com- 
prehensive knowledge  of  the  histories  of  Denmark 
Scotland,  Belgium,  France,  and  Germany  during  the 
sixteenth  century.    It  was  these  tremendous  folios,  the 
astorta  mi  Tempori,,  that  Dr.  Johnson  regretted  he 
had  never  translated,  and  that  Froude,  Milton's  modem 
disciple  m  thorough-going  hatred  of  clericalism,  read 
with  unflagging  interest.    The  Latin  folio  of  Sleidan's 
'  Francc-atUia,  trans.  MolMworth,  pp.  38  H    71 
■  aid.,  p.  70.  '' 

'  atJ.,  pp.  44  £f. 
'  liid,,  p.  84. 

'/^\tV-  97  «■  It  is  Interesting  to  remember  that  Hotman 
read  Buchanans  reyolnHonaiy  dialogue  wIUi  delight,  and  paid 
a  Wbute  to  hie  judgment.  See  Irving,  Lifi  of  B^kanan.  p.  263 
And  note. 


Sources 


xliii 


Peases"  R-evot  ^Tr  Pe^  clnlr^  ^  '"^ 

struggles  of  .he  Wall^ses.  P"^""'-"^  -d 

Another  work  of  the  sixteenth  century,  whole  na^es 

a  Clare     ,       y        ^'*'"'  °"  government  became 

Somewhere  about  three  vears  aft»r  fi,« 
of  Bodin's  book,  there  TmeTth  1  Wearance 

"n,  mere  ,.ame  forth  from  a  secret  nrp«« 

BruZ  ,r"  ,"'  ='«^"'«""'  pseudonym  of  iunu 
f  book  IVf  '"''"""'P  °f  "'-'<=''  '^  ^«i"  in  doubt ' 
a  book  wh.ch  was  to  be  the  authority  of  all  radicals 

*,7  "T  ^y^"""'"  appeared  between  1579  and  15^ 
and  S.X  between  1600  and  1648;  i„  the  latter  ye„1; 

«.!„?''"  '""'''  ^""^"''  "  ""  P.««..M<««y  w„  th.  r«l 


!i 


xliv 


Introi/uctioH 


was  translated  into  English,  and  in  this  form  was  read 
by  Milton,  for  he  refers  to  it  as  The  Defence  against 
Tyranny,^  and  says  it  is  commonly  ascribed  to  Beza. 
At  the  Oxford  inquisition  party  in  1683,  this  notable 
work  was  burned  with  the  political  works  of  Buchanan 
and  Milton.  As  we  have  already  mentioned  the  place 
of  this  book  in  the  history  of  tyrannicide,  and  have 
made  many  references  in  the  notes  to  Milton's  use  of 
it  for  a  source  of  political  theory,  we  shall  add  nothing 
here  except  to  point  out  that  he  follows  it  partic- 
ularly in  his  method  of  appeal  to  sacred  history 
against  tyranny. 

For  the  facts  of  English  history,  Milton  turned  to 
early  authorities,  whom  he  had  already  been  con- 
sulting for  his  proposed  History  of  England.  He  ap- 
plies to  the  history  of  bis  own  land  the  method  of 
Hotman,  examines  coronation  oaths  and  ceremonies, 
cases  of  deposition  of  kings,  and  of  punishment  meted 
out  to  tyrants,  and  tries  to  deduce  therefrom  that 
the  sovereign  power  is  in  the  people.  The  weakness 
in  Milton's  argument  respecting  the  deposition  of 
Richard  11,  for  example,  lay  in  the  fact  that  it  was  in 
the  nature  of  a  palace-revolution  rather  than  a  con- 
certed movement  on  the  part  of  the  people.  Among 
English  historians  cited  by  Milton  in  this  treatise  .-t 
Gildas,  Matthew  Paris,  Sir  Thomas  Smith,  Camden, 
Holinshed,  Stow,  Speed,  and  Rushworth.  His  debt 
to  them  is  indicated  in  tl.e  notes.  For  the  history  of 
Scotland  he  consulted  Buchanan.  Knox,  and  de  Thou." 
Like  all  Puritan  scholars,  Milton  was  well  versed 

'  Second  Dtftna  (Bohn  1.  280). 

■  For  a  contemporary  utimate  of  the  value  of  de  Thou's 
hlitory,  see  WUtelocke,  Mrmariah,  preface  to  Srst  edition,  1681, 
p.  11.  For  a  recent  appreclaHoa,  see  Tilley,  Tht  LiUratun  of  the 
French  Renaissance  2.  221  ff. 


Sources 


xIt 


in  the  church  fathers  and  councils,  in  the  commen- 
taries and  treatises  of  the  Protestant  reformers,  and 
in  those  of  subsequent  expositors  and  pamphleteers. 
Owing  to  his  disparagement  of  the  patristic  writers,' 
he  refers  only  to  Tertullian,  Chrysostom,  and  Basil  in 
this  treatise,  but  his  list  of  Protestant  authors  is 
lengthy,  including  Luther,  Calvin,  Zwingli,  Bucer, 
Martyr,  Parajus,  Cochlseus,  Cartwright,  Fenner,  Gilby, 
Goodman,  Knox,  and  Whittingham.  His  use  of  the 
names  of  Luther  and  Calvin  in  support  of  his  argu- 
ment in  favor  of  deposing  tyrants  is  scarcely  honest. 
His  mi  .ise  of  Luther's  words  out  of  their  connection 
is  particularly  open  to  criticism.'  He  also  wrests 
Calvin  to  his  purpose,  for  that  stem  theologian  was 
far  from  being  an  upholder  of  popular  government." 
On  the  contrary,  he  advocated  submission  to  the  worst 
tyrant.  'Let  no  man  here  deceive  himself,'  says  he, 
'  since  he  cannot  resist  the  magistrate  without  resisting 
God.  We  must  be  subject  not  only  to  good  princes, 
by  whatever  means  they  have  so  become,  although 
there  is  nothing  they  less  perform  than  the  duty  of 
princes.'*  Milton  must  have  read  these  words,  yet 
he  was  unscrupulous  enough  to  try  to  induce  his 
readers  to  believe  that  Calvin  was  on  his  side  of  the 
controversy.  In  quoting  other  Protestant  writers, 
Milton  often  suppresses  a  word  or  phrase,  as  will  be 
seen  by  comparing  the  text  with  that  given  in  the 
notes.  In  general,  it  may  be  said  that  while  the  early 
Protestant  theologians  uttered  brave  words  in  con- 
demnation of  wicked  princes,  their  counsel  was  pas- 

■  Seo  9. 19,  and  note. 

■  See  note  on  46.  12. 

•  See  note  on  47.  28.     See  also  Janet,  Hisl.  Jt  la  Phihiaphit 
Moralt  tt  Polifiqur  2.  40 ;  2.  67. 

•  Imtitutti  4.  20. 


if', 


^i 


il: 


xlvi 


JntroJucricii 


sive  obedience:  at  a  later  period  they  stipulated  that, 
If  the  people  were  to  take  action  against  the  powers, 
they  should  act  through  the  inferior  magistrates,  and 
avoid  individual  or  disorderly  uprisings. 


X.  Style. 

Although  Milton  once  confessed  that  he  wrote  prose 
with  his  left  hand,  he  did  not  entertain  too  poor  an 
opinion  of  his  power  in  that  respect.     He  prided  him- 
self upon  'this  just  and  honest  manner  of  speaking.' 
He  tells  us  that  he  loves  'the  sober,  plain,  and  un- 
affected sty^e  of  the  Scripture,'  and  compares  it  with 
the    crabbed  and  abstruse  writing,  knotty  Africanisms, 
the  pampered  metaphors,  the  intricate  and  involved 
sentences   of  the   fathers,   besides   the  fantastic  and 
declamatory  flashes,  the  cross-jingling  periods,  which 
cannot  but  disturb,  and  come  athwart  a  settled  de- 
votion   worse  than  the  din  of  bells  and  rattles.'*    He 
disUked  a  'coy,  flirting  style,'  and  would  not  be  'gir- 
ded with  frumps  and  curtal  gibes,  by  one  who  makes 
sentences  by  the  statute,  as  if  all  above  three  inches 
long  were  confiscate.*  He  did  not,  however,  approve 
a  style  utterly  devoid  of  humor.    He  would  mix,  here 
and  there,  'such  a  grim  laughter,  as  may  appear  at 
the    same    time    in    an    austere    visage,'    but    which 
would  avoid  levity  or  insolence,  'for  even  this  vein 
of  laughing  hath  ofttimes  a  strong  and  sinewy  force 
in  teaching  and  confuting.' »     Regarding  the  use  of 
quotations  and  authorities,  he  criticizes  an  opponent 

'  0/  lU/crm.  in  Bng.  (Bohn  2.  888). 
•  Apel.  Jar  Smtct.  (Bohn  8.  99). 
'  Atumad.  Rem.  D,f.  (Bohn  8.  44). 


for  'cutting  out  large  docks  and  creeks  into  his  text 

uthotes.     t'""'"    '"^"'^    "'  "'^    unreasoL    e 
authorities.       To  sum  up,  Milton  holds  that  a  eood 

Te  from^fo/"""'  "'  ^°''"'  P'-".  -d  "nairefte? 
rheto^k  Z^  Id'""',  overdrawn  metaphors,  flashy 
rnetoric ,  the  penods  should  be  well-sized    hnt  n  . 

^.^^S;^::^it::i-^---^^ 
.iS=;t-r„rtan^i-ra;fof-r 

that  he  fails  to  uphold  it  in  oni;  t:o":sirhi: 
sentences  are  frequently  intricate'and  invoW  d,and 
he  uses  occasional  Latinisms.  The  modem  reader 
may  be  mchned  ,0  believe  .hat  Milton  ha,  trans^es- 
sed  the  bounds  set  up  for  himself  in  the  mattS^  of 

C«":  UT'"''  °'r '^""«  fr-  '-^  P-Phle 
esw  7h     .  ""•   ^'^  quotations  from  the  Prot- 

estant theologians  and  from  the  ancients.     But  one 

ette  he'hl'r'  •'"  """'  '"^"'"  '°  -"  "-  -" 
erate  he  has  been   in  comparison  with  himself   and 

Milton  has  been  very  sparing  in  his  use  of  citations 
n  this  treatise.  I,  was  the  fashion  of  every  writer  "f 
he  seventeenth  century  to  support  his  claim  to  lein 

lufil""?  ^T"^'  "y  '°"e  parentheses,  and  by 
luggmg  m  'scholastical  trash,'  as  Milton  onie  called 
t  in  a  moment  of  loathing  of  syllogisms.  If  he  seems 
o  indulge  somewhat  in  these'sins  in  th  s  freat'sH 
let  us  be  thankful  that,  on  the  whole,  even  in  con- 
ducting  an  argument  on  a  theme  which  is  by  natoe 

'  ''*''■  f"  Smtct.  (Bohn  8.  146). 

'  0/  /li/crm.  m  £„f.  (Bohn  2.  888). 

•  See  pp.  85£t. 


;  5 


xlviii 


Intnduttion 


heavy   and  abstruse,   he   contrives  to  be  so  easy  to 
understand,  and  so  forceful.    For  in  spite  of  numerous 
assertions  to  the  contrary,  we  agree  with  Professor 
Trent  that  Milton   is   a  writer  of  lucid  prose.'    The 
first  part  of  this  treatise,  where  he  takes  up  'the  or- 
iginal of  kings,'  U  highly  praised  by  Tulloch  as  being 
'  one  of  the  most  clear  and  consistent  arguments  in 
Milton's  controversial  writings."    To  clearness  Milton 
has  add.  '  force  in  the  style  of  this  treatise.    Except 
in  his  failure  to  explain  in  whom  the  power  of  the 
people  was  legitimately  vested,  whether  in  the  majority 
of  the  members  of  the  House  of  Commons,  or  in  what 
Prynne   called   an   'unparliamentary  junto,'    he    has 
shaped  a  powerful,  even  an  overwhelming  argument 
against  tyrannical  rulers.  Presbyterian  divines,  and  all 
opponents  of  the  Independent  party.    Masson  speaks 
of  the  '  hammer-like  force '  of  this  piece  of  writing, 
and  it  is   easy   to  gather   that  a  great  deal  of  this 
vigor  IS  due  to  Miltons  power  as  a  maker  of  striking 
phrases,  such  as  'apostate  scar  crowes,'  'dancing  di- 
vines,'  'barking  monitories,'   'the  spleene  of  a  frus- 
trated faction,'  'greasd  them  thick  and  deepe,'  'pre- 
sumptuous Sion,'  and  scores  of  others  of  equal  merit. 
The   freshness   of  his   metaphors   appeals   to   us  on 
nearly  every  page,  and  his  style  is  loaded  with  color 
m  all  passages  of  personal  description,  and  in  those 
which  deal  with  the  events  of  history.    There  are  no 
purple  patches  in  this  treatise,  no  '  fits  of  eloquence.' 
but  plenty  of  pen-portraits,  often  thumb-nail  sketches, 
('apostate  scar  crowes,'  for  example),  of  his  enemies, 
and  numerous  fits  of  indignation.    Milton's  satire,  al- 
though  sharp   enough,   is  less  objectionable   in   this 
pamphlet   than   in   the  majority  of  his  prose  pieces. 

'  See  lds>A»  Maion,  Lift  and  llori,  pp.  166  ff. 
*  English  Puritanism  and  its  LeadfrSt  P.  224. 


Orthography  ^y^ 

of  the  po,.u"e.\;V:o«o„s  oTfhfr  •^''  '"«="P«°» 
company  of  divine,  r  .Iftefind  ^"•'^•*"'"  """- 
real  Milton,'  a,  Seeley  decTare,  "Ih"  fir  T'  '"" 
pathy  with  heroisn,,  hi^  a.dor  o  sTi^  «  '  ^^  '^- 
for  liberty,  and  hi«  ..„^„  ■  .      '     '  enthusiasm 

personal  q;a,i,L'iejr7:T"'"^u  "'"'*«'-''•«« 
of  .his  pamphl  r  B^t  "e  find  '"  .'h '""'"'  ''y'" 
midstof  hi,  strictures  and  „fh  "°  .'""^^-^e'*  i"  the 
the  throne  and  ^n T'      \  °     "  '"'''"8*  of  tyranU  on 

ofthefa^t  tha  tC:a''s?ol"''  """'"'  '""'^"-''- 
of  hi,  adversaries   and  sol       !,"'  '"  *'  "ff>""ent. 

For  this  rea,o„Ni:''rin^7^:'""'''"='^''^«*^- 
grace,  the  tolerant  iace  of  r  ^'?'^  ""''  '*'='" 

llPen,»o,o;  and  surdv  th^  T^i  "^  ^'^%".  «"<• 
ing  forth  hi;  ,oul  in  tise  Z.^^'"""  ^^  5'-  -"<»- 
he  show,  in  abundance  TnZi^r""-,  '™"  "«"' 
Commonwealth  a  nohlVnf  ,        *P°'°ey  f°r  *e 

XL  Orthography. 

.-, «....  for  «.tL.'*;i,t:;t::^r----j 

'  Sue  pp.  Mtf. 

■:^:^r::~„^'t;y^--"---.»«,p.n2. 

/  i!?«  onrf  A,(  (IF.ri.  0/  mtu,«.  p.  268). 


I  InrnduciuH 

the  early  modem  period  of  English  literature,  when 
the  language  was  being  reorganized.    In  spelling,  as 
in  sentence-building  and  paragraphing,   each   writer 
was  a  law  unto  himself.    But  just  as  Milton  had  de- 
cided ideas  as  to  the  proper  length  of  sentences,  so 
he  tried  to  spell  by  rule  in  a  day  when  there  was 
no  rule.     In  the  system  which   he  devised,  and   to 
which  he  was  generally  faithful,  the  main  purpose 
seems  to  have  been  simplicity.    There  is  an  approach 
to  the  modern  practice  of  phonetic  spelling  in  drop- 
ping the  weak  final  «,  as  hear  for  heart,  torn  for  »oon«, 
son  for  tmne.    He  often  omits  a  mute  e,  as  cot'nant, 
tpolc'n,  ev'n,  alleg'd,  certainly  for  certainely,  or  a  useless 
consonantal  termination,  as  general  for  geturall,  equal 
for  equall,  gospel  for  goapell,  Ml  foi   atill,  etpecial  for 
ttpeciall.    The  suffix  ate  he  shortens  to  at,  as  mior- 
dinat,  privat,  prelat.    The  spelling  of  preterites  and  past 
participles  is  unsettled  in  Milton's  writings,  as  is  that 
of  words  ending  in  y  and  ie.    He  often  changed  the 
final  d  into  t  after  the  dropping  of  «  in  verbs  ending 
in  a  surd  consonant,  as  ttopt,  profeet,  baniaht,  punuM. 
In  this   treatise   we  find  that  the  spelling  of  the 
personal  pronouns  varies.    There  is  such  individual 
orthography  as  vertue  for  virtue,  thir  for  their,  meer 
for  meere,  mely  for  only,  then  for  than,  govermetU  for 
government,  ly  for  lie,  furder  for  further,  and  tent  for 
aeent.    The  present  text  of  The  Tenure  of  Kingt  and 
llagittratet  possesses  special  interest  for  the  student 
of  Milton's  system  of  orthography.    It  is  a  copy  of 
the  actual  spelling  of  the  first  edition,  collated  with 
the  second  edition,  and  including  the  numerous  ad- 
ditions made   in  the  new  issue  of  the   pamphlet  in 
1660.    By      -nparing  the  text  of  the  first  with  that  of 
the  second  edition,  we  find  many  alterations  in  the 
spelling.    Nearly  all  these  changes  tend  toward  sim- 


Orihtgraphy  ,. 

attf  :"'  ^.:  .r,!:!'"  '^e  pHncip,..  explained 
opinion,  therefc.rf.   »i,..  ui.  "'*  "e  of 

the  proof-sheets  of  .h  ^  eS  Tt'^  '""'" 
■nay  have  been  the  work  of  an  am/  ""P^ 

compositor  may  have  3  =,  amanuensis,  or  the 

cate  of  spelling  rtr™r,tl";^';e'he"fr'  T'"' 
was  not  satisfactory  to  the  authtr'  ^  i."  "''•'°" 
revision  of  the  sn-ilm^  /       author.     In   his   careful 

cover  Miiton^^^Ssst  the^eSlsT^  '^^ '•'- 
chan.es  ™a£--:^—-;^.in^. 


first  EMm. 

Gentilisme 
still 

mischiefe 

prelates 

Sonne 

Britanes 

worse 

soone 

betooke 

certainely 

generall 

learned 

againe 

alleag'd 

equall 

sinceritie 


First  EdiHoH. 
therefore 
patheticall 
drawne 
plaine 
mortall 
custome 
wee 
hee 
fitt 

kingdomes 

devill 

private 

subordinate 

sinne 

schismes 


Stcoiul  Edition. 
therfore 
pathetical 
drawn 
plain 
mortal 
custom 

he 
fit 

kingdoms 

devil 

privat 

subordinat 

sin 

seisms 


•  a 


:W 


IntnJumm 


Xn.   A  CONTEMPORAKV   CRITICISM. 

So  far  as  is  known,  there  is  only  one  contemporary 
criticism  of  Tht  T-mn  of  Kingt  Magi$tratn.  It  is  from 
the  pen  of  a  Presbyterian  parliamentarian  and  pam- 
phleteer, Clement  Walker,  a  literary  partner  of  William 
Prynne,  and  therefore  one  who  resented  Milton's 
gibes  at  apostate  scarecrows  and  inconsistent  divines. 
As  Walker's  book  is  not  accessible  to  the  general 
reader,  we  reproduce  his  diatribe.  It  reads  as  follows : 
'There  is  lately  come  forth  a  book  of  John  MilUmt 
(a  Libertine,  that  thinketh  his  Wife  a  Manacle,  and 
his  very  Garters  to  be  Shackles  and  Fetters  to  him: 
one  that  (after  the  Independent  fashion)  will  be  tied 
to  no  obligation  to  God  or  man)  wherein  he  under- 
taketh  to  prove,  That  it  i>  late/ul  for  any  that  havt 
power  to  call  to  aeeount,  Depote,  and  put  to  Death  wicked 
King)  and  TyraiUi  (cffter  due  conviction)  if  the  ordinary 
iiagittrate  neglect  it.  I  hope  then  it  is  lawful  to  put 
to  death  wicked  Cromwels,  Councels  of  State,  corrupt 
Factions  in  Parliament:  for  I  know  no  prerogative 
that  usurpation  can  bestow  upon  them.  He  likewise 
asserteth.  That  those,  who  of  late  so  much  blame 
Deposing,  are  the  men  that  did  it  themselves,  (meaning 
the  Presbyterians).  I  shall  invite  some  man  of  more 
leisure  and  abilities  than  myself,  to  Answer  these  two 
Paradoxes:  But  shall  first  give  him  these  cautions: 

1.  That  for  the  Polemick  part  he  turn  all  his  Argu- 
ments into  Syllogismes,  and  then  he  will  find  them 
to  be  all  Fallacies,  the  froth  of  wit  and  fancy,  not 
the  Dictates  of  true  and  solid  Reason. 

2.  That  for  the  Historical  or  narrative  part,  he  would 
thoroughly  examine  them,  and  he  will  find  few  of 
them  consonant  to  the  plumbline  of  truth. 

3.  That  he  would  consider  that  from  the  beginning 


/*  Cnltmporary  Criticism  liii 

of  this  Parliament  there  were  three  Parties  or  Fac 
tions  in  It  : 

1.  The  Royalists. 

2.  The  Presbyterians. 
8.  The  Independents." 

Without  further  reference  to  Milton,  Walker  pro- 
ceeds  to  declare  that  the  Independents  have  been 
the  inconsistent  troublers  of  Israel,  and  that  the  Pres- 
byterians have  been  laboring  to  deliver  them  from 
their  errors, 

'  Hill.  ./  iKhf.  j,t.  2,  199  ff. 


THE  TEXT 


A  REPRODU^  TION  OF  THE  FIRST  EDITION 

WITH  VARIANTS 

FROM  THE  SECOND  EDITION. 


The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates:  Proving, 
That  It  IS  Lawful],  and  hath  been  held  so  through  all 
Ages,  for  any  who  have  the  Power,  to  call  to  account 
a  Tyrant,  or  wicked  KING,  and  after  due  conviction, 
«.iT^*  *"^  P"'  •''■"  '"  '^"*;  if  the  ordinary 
MAGISTRATE  have  neglected  or  denyd  to  doeT 
And  that  they,  who  of  late,  so  much  blame  Deposing, 
are  the  Men  that  did  it  themselves.  The  Author  J  M 
London,  Printed  by  Matthew  Simmons,  at  the  Gilded 
Lyon  in  Aldersgate  Street,  1649. 


THE  TENURE  OF  KINGS 
AND  MAGISTRATES 

But  being  slaves  wi^fd         *'  ''^™"'  °^^  Nation.  , 
strive  so  much  to  hfv    .v,  '  "°  """"^^  *>"«  'hey 

govem'd  r'he  °nwaM  v  "  "'  ^'"'^  <=onfon„ably 
loverntheLles  "pti^r-  ™'«'  -^y, -"ich  the^ 
heartilie,  but  eood   ml    r        ^* '^" '°''* '"='^'1°'" 

indulgence  then  under  Tyrants  hV'°^'  °' """^ 
Tyrants  are  not  oft  offenHZH  '"'^^  '"  '*'   ""at 

of  bad  men  as  beinr  n  '  "°"''^'"^  """^  '"  "oubt 
whom  vertue'  and'^e^won^t::;"  "™'^=  ""'  '" 
theyfeareineame,r»;h      •  V  "  emment.  them., 

the^  hes  a.U:Sed-an'd7u  ;S:'  ""T"'  ''''"'' 
neither  doe  bad  men  ."""?"="'"•    ^^onsequentlie 

alwaies  readiest  wirthAri^"""'   ''"'   ''^^^   ^een 
0»...™„,  to  colour  oetSs:?"  1  ^'""^  '"' 
although  sometimes  for  shame   anH?"""''    ^""^  ~ 
their  owne  grievances   of  n'  "''*"  ''  ""'"^^  1° 

seeme  good%~' a^d'sid"  Xt"";'"^^  """"^ 
yet  when  others  for   hell?  "'^  ''^"^''  "^^^s^' 

endud   with  f^rtLde   anHH '"".''''''''' ^°""'"^' 
nothing  but  the  curse  Tit  ""   ""^"^  *°   ^^^^^ - 

'*-».!  »/M.x:X^rVo'Xe'o":  ^^"^  ""^ 
not  one,y  the  caiam^  a/d  ^11:^07:^:; 


4  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 

but  the  roots  and  causes  whence  they  spring,  streight 
these  men.  and  sure  helpers  at  need,  as  if  they  hated 
onely  the  miseries  but  not  the  mischiefes,  after  they 
have  juggl'd   and  palterd  with   the  World,  bandied 
i  and  borne  armes  against  their  King,  devested  him, 
disanomted  him,  nay,    curs'd   him   all  over  in  their 
pulpits  and  their  pamphlets,  to  the  ingaging  of  sincere 
and  reall  men,  beyond  what  is  possible  or  honest  to 
retreat  from,   not   onely   turne   revolters  from   those 
■•  prmciples,  which  onely  could  at  first  move  them,  but 
lay   the   staine   of  disloyaltie,    and   worse,    on   those 
proceedings,  which  are  the  ne-essarie  consequences  of 
their  owne  former  actions  ;  nor  dislikd  by  themselves, 
were  they  managd  to  the  intire  advantages  of  their 
■iowne   Faction;    not    considering   the   while  that   he 
toward  whom  they  boasted  new  fidelitie,  counted  th-m 
accessory;   and   by   those  Statutes   and  Laws  which 
they  so  impotently   brandish   against   others,   would 
have  doomd  them  to  a  traytors  death,  for  what  they 
~  have  done  alreadie.     '  Tis  true,  that  most  men  are  apt 
anough  to  civiU  Wars  and  commotions  as  a  noveltie, 
and  for  a  flash,  hot  and  active ;   but  through  sloth 
or  mconstancie,  and  weakness  of  spirit  either  fainting 
ere  theu-  owne  pretei.;es,  though  never  so  just,   be 
■ihalfe  attaind,    or   through   an   inbred  falshood   and 
wickednesse,    betray   oft   times    to    destruction    with 
themselves,  men  of  noblest  temper  join'd  with  them 
for  causes,  which  they  in  their  rash  undertakings  were 
not  capable  of    If  God  and  a  good  cause  give  them 
3.  Victory,   the  prosecution  whereof  for  the  most  part 
inevitably  drawes   after   it  the    alteration   of  Lawes' 
change  of  Goverment,  downfall  of  princes  with  thei^ 
Families ;  then  comes  the  task  to  those  Worthies  which 
^J^  Second  edition  omits  ./,    A  new  pwagraph  1.  alw  indicted 


-       '^'T»'ure  of  King,  and  Magistrates  5 

their  gibrish  Ws  "hou^t  TTT''''  "'  '"'"J"''- 
^'avery.     Others  ^h'ohavfbenef  ^*  °'  *''  '""'"'  ' 
Prince,  under  .he  notio:  of  a  S"  nr '"^*  "■''' 
incendiaries  of  the  Warrp  =.„»•     .  [^    '  "°  ■"««"« 

of  his  Providence  anHirH  '"'"'  ^l"^"  ^""^  o"' 
him  into  the  hand  o?  hr  h  'P"'""  '>^"'  "^"ver'd 
a  new  garbe  of  AlleLnel  "vT  ^  ^"'''^-"-  -^  in  .. 
■ong  sifce  canceli'df  thet'pTeldfo'"^-"""^^  '"'- 
extoll  him,  protest  a^,n«»J^u  '"'"•  P"y  him, 
him  to  the  tryal  oS  e  rhi^H'*''''!^"'''""^'"^ 
God,  superiour  to  all  mortall  th  "■  *'  ^"°'<*  °^ 
soever  by  apparent  sLZ    1,  ^^''  '"  '''•°^«  hand  .. 

But  certa^ndy,     "weTnsde^  '  H '"''.""  '^  *°  P"'  "• 
on  a  suddaine  grlwn  s"  ptj,      '"'  ""''  '"'^  "«' 
'heir  pitty  can  bf  no  trneanTcLr  ""^  '°"^''"^'=' 
but  either  levitie  and  shallotnes  r^r^T"^^^^ 
a  '■amall  admiring  of  thT,  1    ■!,■  """^^'  ""^  «'««  " 

ness,  from  whence^hl  seeZ  fi^r''"'"''^  '"'^  ^-»- 
a  dissen,bld  and  sedinous  pity  t^  -"'^er  lastly 
beget  new  commotions  >  As  for  ^  °^'"^"^'0'  to 
a  Tyrant,  under  which  n»  ?u  ''^'  ''  "  ^ee  to 
cited  him  so  oft  il    ht  h.  ^^,  *emselves  have., 

and  the  holy   Chu    'h  11^  "^  ^"'^^  of  Angels, 

him  with  the  spnL:  of '''''"''''''   '""  ""='^  ^harg'd 
then  ever  ir  dW    unT'l'T"'"'  "°°'*  "^  ^^^e, 

they  pretenlTs  tt\"    y^t';  Lr„e'""^^'^f  ^ 
mercies,  wee  read  are  rnJl,         ^  "'  ^"''  '^eir  ,. 


« 


6  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 

much  nicenesse  on  the  unnecessariest  clause  of  their 
Covnant';  wherein  the  feare  of  change,  and  the  absurd 
contradiction  of  a  flattering  hostilitie  had  hamperd 
them,  but  not  scrupling  to  give  away  for  complements, 
i  to  an  implacable  revenge,  the  heads  of  many  thousand 
Christians  more. 

Anothei  sort  there  is,  who  comming  in  the  course 
of  these  affairs,  to  have  thir  share  in  great  actions, 
above  the  forme  of  Law  or  Custome,  at  least  to  give 

■•  thir  voice  and  approbation,  begin  to  swerve,  and  almost 
shiver  at  the  Majesty  and  grandeur  of  som  noble 
deed,  as  if  they  were  newly  enter'd  into  a  great  sin ; 
disputing  presidents,  formes  and  circumstances,  when 
the  Commonwealth  nigh  perishes  for  want  of  deeds  in 

■5  substance,  don  with  just  and  faithfuU  expedition.  To 
these  I  wish  better  instruction,  and  vertue  equall  to 
their  calling;  the  former  of  which,  that  is  to  say. 
Instruction,  I  shall  endeavour,  as  my  dutie  is,  to 
bestow  on  them ;  and  exhort  them  not  to  startle  from 

"the  just  and  pious  resolution  of  adhering  with  all 
their  assistance*  to  the  present  Parlament  and  Army, 
in  the  glorious  way  wherein  Justice  and  Victorie  hath 
set  them:  the  onely  warrants,  through  all  ages,  next 
under  immediate   Revelation,    to    exercise    supreame 

"s  power  in  those  proceedings,  which  hitherto  appeare 
equall  to  what  hath  been  don  in  any  age  or  Nation 
heretofore  justly  or  magnanimouslie.  Nor  let  them  be 
discourag'd  or  deterr'd  by  any  new  Apostate  Scar 
Crowes,  who  under  show  of  giving  counsell,  send  out 

V  their  barking  monitories  and  memento's,  emptie  of  ought 
else  but  the  spleene  of  a  frustrated  Faction.  For  how 
can  that  pretended  counsell  bee  either  sound  or 
faithfuU,  when  they  that  give  it,  see  not  for  madnesse 

*  Sec.  ed.  adds  wrrsted, 

'  Sec.  ed.  strength  and  assistanct. 


The  Tnurt  of  Kings  and  Magistrates  7 

and  vexation  of  their  ends  lost,  that  those  Statutes  and 
Scriptures  which  both  falsly  and  scandalously,  thev 
wrest  against  their  Friends  and  Associates,  would  by 
sentence   of   the   common    adversarie   fall    first  and 

,nTr!.T"  "'*''  """'  ''^^^^-  Neither  let  milde  . 
and  tender  dispositions  be  foolishly  softnd  from  their 
dutie  and  perseverance  with  the  unmasculine  Rhetorick 
of  any  pulmg  Priest  or  Chaplain,  sent  as  a  friendly 
t^T;^  J^Z'  ^°'  ^''^hion-sake  in  t-rivate,  and 
forthwith  pubhsh't  by  the  Sender  himselfe,  that  wee  » 
may  know  how  much  of  friend  there  was  in  it  to 
cast  an  odious  envie  upon   them,   to  whom   it  was 

hTT  /  v,'°  ".^  '™'  "  "'"^•'*-    Nor  let  any  man  be 
deluded   by   either   the   ignorance   or   the   notorious 
hypocnsie  and  self-repugnance  of  our  dancing  Divines  .. 
who  have  the  conscience  and  the  boldnesse  to  come 
with  Scripture  in  their  mouthes.  glossd  and  fitted  for 
thu-  tumes  with  a  double  contradictory  sense,  trans- 
forming the  sacred  veritie  of  God  to  an  Idol  with  two 
faces,  looking  at  once  two  several  ways:   and  with., 
the  same  quotations  to  charge   others,   which  in  the 
same  case   they  made  serve   to  justifie   themselves 
For  while  the  hope  to  bee  made  Classic  and  Provin- 
ciall  LonJs  led  them  on,  while  pluralities  greasd  them 
thick  and  deepe,  to  the  shame  and  scandall  of  Religion  ., 
more  then  all  the  Sects  and  Heresies  they  exclaime 
against,  then  to  fight  against  the  Kings  person,  and 
no  lesse  a  Party  of  his  Lords  and  Commons,  or  to 
put  force  upon   both   the  Houses,    was    good,    was 
lawfull,  was  no  resisting  of  Superiour  powers;  they,, 
onely  were  powers   not  to   be  resisted,  who   coun- 
tenancd  the  good  and  punisht  the  evill.    But  now 
that  thir  censorious  domineering  is  not  sufferd  to  be 
umversall,  truth  and  conscience  to  be  freed    Tithes 
and  Pluralities  to  be  no  more,  though  competdt  allow-  „ 


II 


■m 


#(}, 


8  Tht  TeHure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 

ance  provided,   and  the  warme  experience  of  large 
gifts,  and  they  so  good  at  talcing  them;  yet  now  to 
exclude  and  seize  on>  impeach  t  Members,  to  bring 
Delinquents  without  exemption  to  a  faire  TribunaU 
5  by  the  common  Nationall  Law  against  murder,  is  now 
to  be  no  lesse  then  Corah,  Dathan  and  Ahiram.     He 
who  but  erewhile  in  the  pulpits  was  a  cursed  Tyrant, 
an   eneraie   to  God  and  Saints,   laden   with   all   the 
innocent  blood  spilt  in  three  Kingdomes,  and  so  to 
..  bee  fought  against,  is  now,  though  nothing  penitent 
or  alterd  fi-om  his  first  principles,  a  lawfuU  Magistrate, 
a  Sovrane   Lord,  the    Lords   Annointed,  not   to   be 
touch'd,  though  by  themselves  imprisond.    As  if  this 
onely  were  obedience,  to  preserve  the  meere  uselesse 
■J  bulke  of  his  person,  and  that  onely  in  prison,  not  in 
the  field,  and  to  disobey  his  commands,   denie  him 
his  dignitie   and   office,    every   where    to    resist    his 
power  but  where  they  thinke  it  onely  surviving  in 
thir  owne  faction. 
■•     But  who  in  particular  is  a  Tyrant  cannot  be  deter- 
mmd  in  a  generall  discourse,  otherwise  then  by  sup- 
position;   his   particular  charge,    and    the    sufficient 
proofe  of  it  must  determine  that:   which  I  leave  to 
Magistrates,   at  least  to  the   uprighter  sort  of  them, 
•5  and  of  the  people,  though  in  number  lesse  by  many' 
in  whom  faction  least  hath  prevaild  above  the  Law 
of  nature  and  right  reason,  to  judge  as  they  finde 
cause.    But  this  I  dare  owne  as  part  of  my  faith,  that 
if  such  a  one  there  be,  by  whose  Commission  whole 
•  massachers  have  been  committed  on  his  faithfull  sub- 
jects,  his  Provinces  oflTered   to  pawne  or  alienation, 
as  the  hire  of  those  whom  he  had  soUicited  to  come 
in  and  destroy  whole  Cities  and  Countries ;  be  hee 
King,  or  Tyrant,  or  Emperour,  the  Sword  of  Justice 
'  Sec.  ed.  upon. 


Thi  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magisn-ales  9 

is  above  him;  in  whose  hand  soever  is  found  suf- 
ficen.  power  ,0  avenge  the  effusion,  and  so  ^ea,  a 
deluge  of  mnocent  blood.  For  if  all  humane  power 
.0  execute,  not  accidentally  but  in.endedly,  the  wrl.h 

God    1""°.;:  "'"   '^°""   "'"'™»  ^^^Ption.   be   of, 
God;  then  that  power,  whether  ordinary,  or  if  tha 

LtW^TTnT"?  -  ""-""^  'hat  in^nt  ofcod 
at  large  this  whole  Question,  though  with  all  expe- 
dien     brevity,  I  shall  here  set  downe  from  LX^.,. 

SXTtrthr^"  °''''"«'^  •"•"  -«•  «- 

exalted  to  that  dignme  above  thir  Brethren;  and 
from  thence  shall  prove,  that  turning  to  tyranny  they 
may  bee  as  lawfully  deposd  and  punished,  L  hey 
were  at  first  elected:  This  I  shall  doe  by  auTot^fe  ., 
and  reasons,  not  learnt  in  confers  among  ScWsme 
and  Heres.es  as  our  doubling  Divines  afe  ready  to 
calumniate,  but  fetch'd  out  of  the  midst  of  choices" 
and  most  authentic  learning,  and  no  prohibited  lulo" 

do^xaT^d     r*!:'"'   ""'  «--->.  Christian,  Orth:.'.. 
doxal    and  which  must  needs  be  more  convincing  to 
our  Adversaries,  Presbyterial.  nvmcmg  to 

deny  that  all  men  naturally  were  borne  free,  being 
the   image    and   resemblance   of  God   himselfe,   an!., 
were   by  pnvilege  above  all  the  creatures,  boi^e  to 
command  and  not  to  obey:  and  that  they  Uvd  so  > 

thim^      /";'  °'^'''""'  '^^"^g^^^^ion.  felling  among 
themselves  to  doe  wrong  and  violence,  and  foreseeing 

If'them  anT''  ■""''  """^^  "="<i  «<>  the  destruction. 

earh  Tk  '<.  ^^  ^"^"^  ^^  "°"""°"  '«^"«  «<>  bind 
each  o  her  from  mutual  injury,  and  joyntly  to  defend 
hemselves  against  any  that  gave  disturbance  or  oppo 
sition  to  such  agreement.  Hence  came  Citties,  Townes 
'  A  new  sentence  beglni  here  In  iec.  ed 


10  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 

and  Common-wealths.  And  because  no  faith  in  alt 
was  found  sufficiently  binding,  they  saw  it  needfull 
to  ordaine  some  authoritie,  that  might  restraine  by 
force  and  punishment  what  was  violated  against  peace 
I  and  common  right.  This  autoritie  and  power  of  self- 
defence  and  preservation  being  originally  and  naturally 
in  every  one  of  them,  and  unitedly  in  them  all,  for 
ease,  for  order,  and  least  each  man  should  be  his 
owne  partial  judge,  they  communicated  and  deriv'd 

■•  either  to  one,  whom  for  the  eminence  of  his  wisdom 
and  integritie  they  chose  above  the  rest,  or  to  more 
then  one  whom  they  thought  of  equal  deserving :  the 
first  was  calld  a  King;  the  other  Magistrates.  Not 
to  be  thir  Lords  and  Maisters  (though  afterward  those 

IS  names  in  som  places  were  giv'n  voluntarily  to  such 
as  had  bin  authors  of  inestimable  good  to  the  people) 
l)ut,  to  be  thir  Deputies  and  Commissioners,  to  exe- 
cute, by  vertue  of  thir  intrusted  power,  that  justice 
which  else  every  man  by  the  bond  of  nature  and  of 

••  Cov'nant  must  have  executed  for  himselfe,  and  for 
one  another.  And  to  him  that  shall  consider  well 
why  among  fi-ee  persons,  one  man  by  civill  right 
should  beare  autority  and  jurisdiction  over  another, 
no  other  end  or  reason  can  be  imaginable.     These 

■s  for  a  while  governd  well,  and  with  much  equitie  de- 
cided all  things  at  thir  owne  arbitrement:  till  the 
temptation  of  such  a  power  left  absolute  in  thir  hands, 
perverted  them  at  length  to  injustice  and  partialitie. 
Then   did   they,   who    now  by  tryall  had  found  the 

y  danger  and  inconveniences  of  committing  arbitrary 
power  to  any,  invent  Lawes  either  fram'd,  or  con- 
sented to  by  all,  that  should  confine  and  limit  the 
autority  of  whom  they  chose  to  govern  them:  that 
so  man  of  whose  failing  they  had  proof,  might  no 

»  more  rule  over  them,  but  law  and  reason  abstracted 


The  Ttnurt  of  Kings  and  MagistraUi 


II 


«l,"    w.       ?  '  ^  '^'"  P*""""'  '"°'»  ""d  frail- 
ties.     When  thi,  would  not  serve  but  that  the  Uw 

was   ei  her   not   ewcuted,   or   misapplyd   thev   were 

constraind  from  that  time,  the  onely  remedy  left  them 

to  put  conditions  and  take  Oaths  from  all  Kin«  aTd  . 

Magistrates  at   thir  firs,  instalment  to  doe    mpa^'ll  ' 

recea^d'An"*^  *'°  ,""""  •"""^  "=™-  «"<»  ""  "'her, 
receavd  Allegeance  from  the  people,  that  i,  to  say 
bond  or  Covnant  to  obey  them  in  execution  of  those 
Uwes  wh>cK  they  .he  people  had  themselves  made  .. 
or  assented    ,o.     And   t;,is    oft    times    with    express 

fXulf t  h'  1  "■'  ^'"^  °'  *"'^'''="''  P™vd' un! 
tT.  ni  .  ,^'"-  ""'  P"°P'^  *°"'d  be  disingagd. 
They  added  also  Cmnselors  and  Parlaments,  noTto 

at%:rtim:!  '  r'-  '"•  ""*■  '^™  "^  """out  him°., 
at  set  t,mes.  or  all  times,  when  any  danger  threatn'd 
to  have  care  of  the  public  safety.  Therefore  sahh 
Claud.u.  SeseW  a  French  StatesmL,  TkeZZZ 
««  ,et  a.  a  bridle  to  f/.e  King;  which  I  insUn^ 
rather,  because  that  Monarchy  I  granted  by  aTo  » 
be  faixe  more  absolute  then  ours.     That  this  and  the 

mtht  be  '  '  .""'•'^''  "^^^  ^P""'"  '^  ">°''  ^-■ 
Storil   H    ™P'°"«'y^n,ade    appeare  throughout  aU 

whe"e  kfnl's       h'p'  '''"''""  ^  ''"'"  °f '"o.,!  Nations 
rbolsh   T/"'  f'"P"'™""  '"'^«  -"gh,  meanes  to-, 
abolish   all  ancient  memory  of  the  peoples  right  by 
heir  encroachments   and   usurpations.     But   I  sp^e 
long  insertions',   appe.,ling  to  the  German,    Fren^ 

^^^  :r:::  r;t^r.r  -  -^^  - 

*il^.:  ol"'""^'  "  «-"»>  "y  aU  to  6.  a  ,krr  .^Z 


p 


i»  The  Tenure  ofKingi  and  Ma/^strales 

Italian,  Arragonian,  English,  and  not  the  least  the 
Scottiah  hiitories :  Not  forgetting  this  onely  by  the 
way,  that  William  the  Neman,  though  a  Conqueror, 
and  not  unswotne  at  his  Coronation,  was  compelld 
>a  second  time  to  Uke  oath  at  S.  AUM>Ht$,  ere  the 
people  would  be  brought  to  yeild  obedience. 

It  being  thus  manifest  that  the  power  of  Kings  and 
Magistrates  is  nothing  else,  but  what  is  onely  deriv- 
ative, transferrd  and  committed  to  them  in  trust  from 
■•  the  people,  to  the  Common  good  of  them  all,  in  whom 
the  power  yet  remaines  fundamentally,  and  cannot  be 
tak'n  from  them,  without  a  violation  of  thir  natural 
birthright,  and  seeing  that  from  hence  Aritotle  and 
the  best  of  Political  writers  have  defind  a  king,  him 
■5  who  governs  to  the  good  and  profit  of  his  people, 
and  not  for  his  owne  ends,  it  follows  from  necessary 
causes,  that  the  Titles  of  Sovran  Lord,  natural  Lord, 
and  the  Uke,  are  either  arrogancies,  or  flatteries,  not 
admitted  by  Emperors  and  Kings  of  best  note,  and 
"dislikt  by  the  Church  both  of  Jews,  Imi.  26.  13.  and 
ancient  Christians,  as  appears  by  Tniullian  and  others. 
Although   generally  the    people    of  Asia,    and    with 
them  the  Jews  also,  especially  since  the  time  they 
chose   a  King,    against    the    advice  and   counsel  of 
■1  God,  are  noted  by  wise  authors  much  inclinable  to 
slavery. 

Secondly,  that  to  say,  as  is  usual,  the  King  hath 
as  good  right  to  his  crown  and  dignitie,  as  any  man 
to  his  inheritance,  is  to  make  the  subject  no  better 
y  then  the  Kings  slave,  his  chattell,  or  his  possession 
that  may  be  bought  and  sould,  And  doubtless,  if 
hereditary  title  were  sufficiently  inquird,  the  best 
foundation  of  it  would  be  found  but  either  in  courtesie 
ta  Europe,  the  Greek  uid  Germui,  beside,  the  French,  Itdlan 
AmgoalM,  EngUri.,  ud  not  leut,  the  Scottidi  Htatorie..' 


The  r«,«  c/Ki^g,  ^nd  Map,mte>  ,3 

for  c;r..i„':  Z^  r  :  at  un ''  '.'"''''' 
and  posterity  all  hi.  „i,  ".  ^  *  ''°"'  himselfe 
.1,..      l-K'  "  "nhentance  to  the  Kinir    ft,.- 

people  „,u.t  be  thought  created  .H ""  "  ?'  "" 
for  them,  and  they  afl  in  o"'!!  ;,:;",";  f^  -' 
^.ngle  which  were  a  kinde  ofT..  .  '"  T 
dignitie  of  mankind  to  affirm  *'  *"= 

Thirdly  it  followes,  that  to  sav  ,(     ■ 
^  .0  none  but  God,  is  tl:  Z:„.^;;:. '^^ -;; 
and    goverment.    For    if  thev    ,„av    „, 
account,  then  al,  covnants  mLe    v  ,h    ■  ^     t"r*^" 
nation;  all  Oathes  are  in  vaine   J  ^''™" 

all  Lawes  which  thZl  '      ''  "^^'  '"-"■'«'  "•  s,  ■• 

"""  wnicn  they  sweare  to  keen    ,     ,  «   . 

purpose;  for  if  the  King  feare  not  rnrt'  °  "" 

of  then,  doe  not?  we  hold  the^       ,'  ^  "°*  '"""y 

bv  the  t^n,.™    Vu-  ^"  °"  ''^e»  and  estates 

themselves,  would    ^oLf^       ^'"''"'    *"  """'d 
human  condign   orTr''  '°  ""«=f  onably    above 

Nation   of  men  'hi  tC  "as  "f^'^f  ''T  "  """'^  '' 
subsisting,  and  to  serv^  ^        ■  °'  '"'"   °"«'y 

compari^k  o^f'hl:  ^r  b^tetS'  ::^'2J''-  '" 
-re  then  so  many  beasts,  or  vrmiThr fe^.: 

wriU»  to  the  f„„^   oThif  Sm        ."'  """"  "■*  '"'>"^'7. 

to  b,  .ndnr-d  by  fr«  ^^Jen"       '^~"^'  ""  "««*  o'  »" 
■  In  Mc.  «i.  ,,„,^  ,„ii„^j  __^ 

f2 


u 


The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magislratet 


not  to  be  reasond  with,  but  to  be  injurd';  among 
whom  there  might  be  found  so  many  thousand  men 
for  wisdome,  vertue,  nobleness  of  mind  and  all  other 
respects,  but  the  fortune  of  his  dignity,  farr  above 
s  him.  Yet  some  would  perswade  us  that  this  absurd 
opinion  was  King  Davids :  bccRuse  m  the  51  Pialm  he 
cries  out  to  God,  Agaimt  thef  onelg  lime  I  tinn'd ;  as 
if  David  had  imagind  that  to  murder  Uriah  and  adul- 
terate his  Wife,  had  bin  no  sinne  against  his  Neighbour, 

■<■  when  as  that  law  of  Motes  was  to  the  king  expressly, 
Deut.  17.  not  to  think  so  highly  of  himself  above  his 
Brethren.  David  therefore  by  those  words  could  mean 
no  other,  then  either  that  the  depth  of  his  guiltiness 
was  known  to  God  onely,   or  to   so  few  as  had  not 

■5  the  will  or  power  to  question  him,  or  that  the  sin 
against  God  was  greater  beyond  compare  then  against 
Uriah,  What  ever  his  meaning  were,  any  wise  man 
will  see  that  the  patheticall  words  of  a  Psalme  can 
be  no  certaine  decision  to  a  point  that  hath  abundantly 

■•  more  certaine  rules  to  goe  by.  How  much  more 
rationally  spake  the  Heathen  King  I'luophoon  in  a 
Tragedy  of  Euripides  then  these  interpreters  would 
put  upon  King  David,  /  rule  not  my  people  by  tyranny, 
as  if  they  were  Barbarians ;    but   am   myself  liahle,   if 

•s  1  doe  unjustly,  to  suffer  justly.  Not  unlike  was  the  speech 
of  Trajan,  the  worthy  Emperor,  to  one  whom  he  made 
General  of  his  Praetorian  Forces.  Take  this  drawne 
sword,  saith  he,  to  use  for  me,  if  I  reigne  well,  if  not. 
to   use   against   me.      Thus  Dion  relates.     And  not 

y  Trajan  onely,  but  Theodoaius  the  younger,  a  Christian 
Emperor  and  one  of  the  best,  causd  it  to  be  enacted 
as  a  rule  undenyable  and  fit  to  be  acknowledgd  by 
all  Kings  and  Emperors,  that  a  Prince  is  bound  to  the 
Laws;  that  on  the  autority  of  Law  the  autority  of 
'  S«c.  ed.  reads  trod  on. 


7»f  Tenure  of  King!  and  Majrisiratei  1 5 

wr"rtJ?*'''"'^^'   ^""^   *°   ">*   Laws   ought  submit. 
Which  Ed.ct  of  his  remaines  yet  unrepeSd '  in  .he 

tola  "l^""'"""-'-  »•«"•  24.  as  a  sacred  constitution 
to  all  the  succeedmg  Emperors.  How  then  can  any 
King  m  Europe  mamtaine  and  write  himselfe  accoun-  s 
table  to  none  but  God,  when  Emperors  in  thir  own 
.mpenall  Statutes  have  writfn  and  decreed  th  m  eles 
accountable  to  Law.     And  indeed  where  such  accoun 

Ibove  I  •   '\"/'  ''"^  "^  ■"^"  -'g"^  -er  him 

above  Law.  may  bid  as  well  a  savage  beast 

'follows  lastly,  that  since  the  King  or  Magistrate 

ho  ds  h,s  autoritie  of  the  people,  bo.h%,riginany  and 

naturally  for   their  good  in  the  first  placf,   and  not 

h  s  owne    then  may  the  people  as  oft  as  they  shall 

judge  .t  for  the  best,  either  choose  him  or  reject  him  ., 

retame  h.m  or  depose  him  though  no  Tyrant   meerTy' 

^oveld  "  '""  "^'"  °'  ''''  •"'"'   "'^"   to   be 

govern  d   as  seems   to  them   best.      This,  though  it 

cannot  but  stand  with  plaine  reason,  sha  1  be  made 

come  .„  0  (He  Land  u^hich  the  Lord  thy  God  giveth  thee 
and. halt, ay  I  ^m  set  a  King  o.er  Ze,  lik!    "the 

^fhtTf  T"  ""'•     '■""'^  ^°'^'  ^""fi™-  -.  that  the 
nghtofchoosmg,  yea  of  changing  thir  owne  goverment 

h  J         f '"'  °'  """^  "'^^'f  '"  the  people.  Tnd  „ 
another  forme  of  goverment,  and  though  thir  changing 
displeasd  h,m,  yet  he  that  was  himself  their  King  ^and 
[hiv      t  '^  !!""?'  "°""^  ""•  ""^  "  hindrance  to^whal 

oneiv  hf    ''°^'''"^'".  "^  they  saw  good,  1  Sam.  8. 

shn^l  •*  '°  '"'""'''f  "«^  nomination   of  who 

hould  reigne  over  them.     Neither  did   that   exempr 

the  Kmg,  as  .f  hee  were  to  God  onely  accountable. 

»ec.  ed.  omita  unrepfald. 


■6 


The  Tenure  of  Kings  anii  Magistrates 


though  by  his  especiall  command  anointed.    There- 
fore Damd  first  made  a  Cotnant  u,Uh  the  elders  of  Israel 
and  so  was  hy  them  anointed  King,'  1  Chron.  11      And 
Jehoiada    the    Priest    making  Jehoash   King,    made   a 
J  Cov  nant  between  him  and  the  People,  2  Kings  11.  17. 
Therefore  when  Roboam  at  his  comming  to  the  Crowne 
rejected  those  conditio-s  which  the  Israelites  brought 
hira,  heare  what  they  answer  him,  what  portion  hate 
we  m  Davtd,  or  inheritance  in  the  son  of  Jessed     See  to 
•"thine  own  house  David.     And   for    the   like   conditions 
not    performd,    all    Israel    before    that    time    deposd 
Samuell:  not  for  his  own  default,  but  for  the  misgov- 
ement"  of  his  Sons.     But  som  will  say  to  both  these 
examples,  it  was  evilly  don.    I  answer,  that  not  the 
■5  latter,  because  it  was  expressely  allow'd  them  in  the 
Law  to  set  up  a  King  if  they  pleasd;  and  God  him- 
self joynd  with  them  in   tiie  work;    though  in  some 
sort  It  was  at  that  time  displeasing  to  him,  in  respect 
of  old  Samuell.   who    had   govemd   them  upringhtly. 
..  As  Livy  praises  the  Romans,  who  took  occasion  from 
Tarquinius   a    wicked   prince    to   gaine    their   Ubertie, 
which  to  have  extorted,  saith  bee,  from  Numa  or  any 
of  the  good  Kings  before,   had  not  bin  seasonable. 
Nor  was  it  in   the  former   example   don    unlawfully ; 
.5  for  when  Roboam  had  prepard  a  huge  Army  to  reduce 
the  Israelites,  be  was  forbidd'n  by  the  Prophet,  1  Kings 
12.  24.     Thus  saith  the  Lord,  yee  shall  not  goe  up,   nor 
fight  against  your  brethren,  for  this  thing  is  from  me.     He 
calls  them  thir  brethren,  not  Rebels,  and  forbidds  to 
3«  be  proceeded  against  them,  owning  the  thing  himselfe, 
not  by  single  providence,    but   by  approbation,    and 
'  Sec.  ed.  adds  2  Sam.  5.  j. 

■  An  interrog.tion  miu-k  is  used  In  place  of  the  period  In 
sec.  ed. 

■  Sec.  ed.  reads  Afii^wermmt. 


The  Tenuri  cf  King!  and  Magiitrates  ,  7 

that  not  onely  of  the  act    as  fr,  n,=  t 

such    matter,    unless    conditionally;    bm    gave    h,° 

d  naf  r.  Ta  M  "n^*'^^''  l^""^^  ^P^-  "  -^o^  „ 
inai^  IS     calld  a  human  ordinance,   1  Pet    2   IS    etr 

exerc.se   therof ;    else    it   contradicts  pZ  whocllls 
the  same  autority  an  Ordinance  of  man.     It  must  al  o  -. 
be  understood  of  lawfull  and  just  power,  elsTe  read 
of  great  power  in  the  affaires  and  Kingdomes  ofihe 

Z*  Vn^V"  ''"'  °"'"-  '"'  -"^  ''^  '«  Christ 
Tihl'  f  i','  ^''""'  ■"'■"  ^  9i«e  thee  and  the  glory 

■  In  MK.  ed.  ,.,rt„„,  rfi«»^,  fou„„,  „ 
In  sec.  ed.  Alike  precede.  .»*»,« 

Violent  .c«on,  W  c.  „e  ^b^.;  !:  Z  lir^^^^'  '■"' 
•  Begins  with  a  capital  in  sec.  ed. 


i8 


The  Tenure  af  Kings  and  Magistrates 


most  expound  to  be  the  tyrannical  powers  and  King- 
domes  of  the  earth.     Therfore  Saint  Paul  in  the  foreci- 
ted  Chapter  tells  us  that  such  Magistrates  hee  meanes, 
as  are,  not  a  terror  to  the  good  but  to  t'le  evill,  such 
5  as  beare  not  the  sword  in  vaine,  but  to  punish  offenders, 
and  to  encourage  the  good.    If  such  onely  be  mentioned 
here  as  powers  to  be  obeyd,  and  our  submission  to 
them  onely  requird,  then  doubtless  those  powers  that 
doe  the  contrary,  are  no  powers  ordaind  of  God,  and 
'■>  by  consequence  no  obligation  laid  upon  us  to  obey 
or  not  to  resist  them.     And  it  may  bee  well  observd 
that  both    these   Apostles,    whenever   they   give  this 
precept,  express  it  in  termes  not  concret  but  abstract, 
as  logicians  are  wont  to  speake,  that  is,  they  mention 
■!  the  ordinance,  the  power,  the  autoritie  before  the  persons 
that  execute  it,  and  what  that  power  is,  lest  we  should 
be   deceavd,  they  describe  exactly.     So   that  if  the 
power  be  not  such,  or  the  person  execute  not  such 
power,  neither  the  one  nor  the  other  is  of  God,  but 
~  of  the  Devill  and  by  consequence  to  bee  resisted.     From 
this  exposition   Chryioatome   also  on    the   same   place 
dissents    not,  explaining   that  these  words  were  not 
writfn  in  behalf  of  a  tyrant.     And  this  is  verify  d  by 
David,  himself  a  King,  and  likeliest  to  bee  Author  of 
•5  the  Psalm  94.  20.  which  saith.  Shall  the  throne  of  itti(juily 
have/elloKshipieiththee.^   And  it  were  worth  the  knowing, 
since  Kings,'  and  that  by  Scripture  boast  the  justness 
of  thir  title,   by  holding  it  immediately  of  God.   yet 
cannot   show   the   time   when  God  ever   set   on    the 
3"  throne  them  or  thir  forefathers,  but  onely  when  the 
people  chose  them;   why  by  the  same  reason,  since 
God  ascribes  as   oft  to  himself  the  casting  down  of 
Princes  from  the  throne,  it  should  not  be  thought  as 
^  Sec.  ed.  hu  question  mark. 
*  Sec.  ed.  suppliee  in  these  days  after  /Cings. 


The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates  19 

lawful,  and  as  much  from  God  when  none  are  seen 
to  do  it  but  the  people,  and  that  for  just  causes.     For 
it  needs  must  be  a  sin  in  them  to  depose,  it  may  as 
likely  be  a  sin  to  have  elected.    And  contrary  if  the 
peoples  act  in  election  be  pleaded  by  a  King,  as  the  5 
act  of  God,    and    the    most  just    title    to    enthrone 
him,    why    may   not    the    peoples    act    of  rejection 
be  as  well  pleaded  by  the  people  as  the  act  of  God, 
and  the  most  just  reason  to  depose  him  ?  So  that  we 
see  the  title  and  just  right  of  reigning  or  deposing .. 
in    reference    to    God,    is   found    in   Scripture  to   be 
all    one;    visible    onely    in    the    people,    and   depen- 
ding meerly  upon  justice  and  demerit.     Thus  farr  hath 
bin  considerd   briefly  the  power  of  Kings  and  Mag- 
istrates:  how  it  was.   and  is  originally  the  peoples..! 
and  by  them  conferrd  in  trust  onely  to  bee  imployd 
to  the  common  peace  and  benefit;  "with  libertie  ther- 
fore  and  right  remaining  in  them  to  reassume  it  to 
themselves,   if  by  Kings  or  Magistrates  it  be  abusd : 
or  to  dispose  of  it  by  any  alteration,   as   they  shall  ~ 
judge  most  conducing  to  the  public  good. 

We  may  from  hence  with  more  ea,-e.  and  force  of 
argument  determin  what  a  Tyrant  is,  and  what  the 
people  may  doe  against  him.     A  Tyrant  whether  bv 
wrong    or   by   right  comming   to  the  Crowne,    is  he  .s 
who  regarding  neither  Law  nor  the  common  good, 
reigns  onely  for  himself  and  his  faction  :  Thus  67.  Basil 
among  others  defines   him.     And  because  his  power 
IS  great,  his   will   boundless  and  exorbitant,  the  ful- 
filling whereof  is  for  the  most  part  accompanied  with  jo 
innumerable  wrongs  and  oppressions  of  the  people. 
murthers,  massacres,  rapes,  adulteries,  desolation,  and 
subversion  of  Citties  and  whole  provinces,  look  how 
great  a  good  and  happiness  a  just  King  is,  so  great 
a  mischeife  is  a  Tyrant;  as  hee  the  public  Fathe:  ofu 


so  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Mapstraies 

his  Countrie.   so  this   the  common  enemie.     Against 
whom  what  the  people  lawfully  may  doe.  as  against 
a  common  pest,  and  destroyer  of  mankind,  I  suppose 
no  man  of  cleare  judgement  need  goe  furder  to  be 
!  guided  then  by  the  very  principles  of  nature  in  him. 
But  because  it  is  the   vulgar  folly  of  men  to  desert 
thir  owne  reason,  and  shutting  thir  eyes  to  think  they 
see  best  with  other  mens.  I  shall  shew  by  such  exam- 
ples as  ought  to  have  most  waight  with  us,  what  hath 
.obin   don   in'   thLi    case   heretofore.    The    Gretka  and 
Romans,   as   thir   prime  Authors  witness,  held  it  not 
onely  lawfull.  but  a  glorious  and  Heroic  deed,  rewar- 
ded publicly  with  Statues  and  Garlands,    to  kill  an 
infamous  Tyrant  at  any  time  without  tryal:  and  but 
.!  reason,  that  he  who  trod  down  all  Law,  should  not 
bee    voutsafd   the    benefit    of   Law.      Insomuch   that 
.Senem  the   Tragedian    brings    in   Hercuttf   the   grand 
suppressor  of  Tyrants,  thus  speaking, 
Victima  baud  ulla  >nnplior 
■o  Pote'it,  magisque  opima  mactari  Jovi 

Quam  rex  iniquus 

There  can  be  slaine 
No  sacrifice  to  God  more  acceptable 
Then  an  unjust  and  wicked  King 
■5  But   of  these  1  name    no    more   lest   it  bee  objected 
they   were    Heathen:    and    come   to  produce  another 
sort  of  mcMi  that  had  the  knowledge  of  true  Religion. 
Among  the  Jews  this  custome  of  tyrant-killing  was 
not   unusual.      First,   Ehud,   a  man   whom    God   had 
JO  raysd  to  deliver  Israel  from  Ejlon  King  of  Moab,  who 
had  conquerd  and  rul'd  over  them  eighteene  years, 
hemg  sent  to  him  as  an  Ambassador  with  a  present, 
slew  him  in  his  owne  house.     But  hee  was  a  forren 
Prince,  an  enemie.  and  Ehud  besides  had  special  war- 
'  The  text  reada  ii,  evidently  a  misprint. 


The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magiilrates  21 

rant  from  God.     To  the  first  I  answer,  it  imports  not 
whether  forren  or  native;   For  no  Prince  so  native 
but  professes  to  hold  by  Law :  which  when  he  him- 
selfe  over-tumes,  breaking  all  the  Covnants  and  Oaths 
that  gave  him  title  to  his  dignity,  and  were  the  bond  , 
and  alliance  between  him  and  his  people,  what  differs 
he  from  an  outlandish  King,  or  from  an  enemie?  For 
look    how    much   right    the   King  of  Spaine  hath    to 
govern  us   at  all,   so  much  right  hath   the  King  of 
England  to  govern  us  tyrannically.     If  he,  though  not .. 
bound    to    us  by  any  league,  comming  fi-om  Spaine 
m  person  to  subdue  us  or  to  destroy  us,  might  law- 
fully  by  the  people  of  England  either  bee  slaine  in 
nght.  or  put  to  death  in  captivity,  what  hath  a  native 
Kmg  to  plead,  bound  by  so  many  Covnants,  bene-  ., 
hts  and  honours  to  the  welfare  of  his  people,  why 
he  through  the  contempt  of  all  Laws  and  Parlaments 
the  onely  tie  of  our  obedience  to  him,  for  his  owne 
wills  sake,  and  a  boasted  praerogative  unaccountable, 
after  sevn  years  warring  and  destroying  of  his  best .. 
subjects,  overcom  and  yeilded  prisoner,  should  think 
to  scape  unquestionable  as  a  thing  divine,  in  respect 
of  whom    so    many    thousand    Christians    destroy  d, 
should  lye  unaccounted  for,  polluting  with  thir  slaugh- 
terd  carcasses  all  the  Land  over,  and  crying  for  venge-  .j 
ance  against  the  living  that  should  have  righted  them 
Who  knows  not  that  there  is  a  mutual  bond  of  amity 
and  brother-hood  between  man  and  man  over  all  the 
Worid,  neither  is  it  the  English  Sea  that  can  sever 
us  from  that  duty  and  relation :  a  straiter  bond  yet  j. 
there    is    between     fellow-subjects,    neighbours    and 
fnends;  but  when  any  of  these  doe  one  to  another 
so  as  hostility   could  doe  no  worse,   what  doth  the 
Law  decree  less  against  them,  then  open  enemies  and 
invaders?  or  if  the  law  be  not  present,  or  too  weake,  is 


i 


"  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 

what   doth  it  warrant  us  to  less  then  single  defence 
or  civil  warr?   and  from  that  time  forward  the  Law 
of  civill  defensive  warr.  differs  nothing  from  the  Law 
.f  forren  hostility.     Nor  is  it  distance  of  place  that 
,  makes  enmitie,  but  enmity  that  makes  distance     He 
therfore  that  keeps  peace   with  me,   neer  or  remote 
of  whatsoever  Nation,   is  to  mee  as  farr  as  all  civil 
and  human  offices  an  Englishman  and  a  neighbour: 
but  if  an   Englishman   forgetting  ail  Laws,    human, 
..civil  and  relic.:- MS  offend  against  life  and  libertie  to 
him  offender!   -nd  to  the  Law  in  his  behalf,  though 
bom  in  thf      -  e  womb,  he  is  no  better  then  a  Turk 
a  Sarasin.  .    .heathen.     This  is  Gospel,  and  this  was 
ever  Law  among  equals :    how  much  rather  then  in 
..force  against  any  King  whatsoever',  who  in  respect 
of  the  people  is  confessd  inferior  and  not  equal:  to 
distinguish    therfore    of  a   Tyrant    by   ..utlandish,   or 
domestic  is  a  weak  evasion.     To  the  second  that  he 
was  an  enemie,  I  answer,  what  Tyrant  is  not?  yet 
^Egloit  by   the  Jewes   had    bin  acknowledgd   as   thir 
Sovran,  they  had  servd  him  eighteene  yeares.  as  long 
almost   as   wee    our    WilUam   the  Conqueror,    in    all 
which  time  he  could  not  be  so  unwise  a  Statesman 
but  to  have  takn  of  them  Oaths  of  Fealty  and  Alle- 
•sgeance   by  which  they  made  themselves  his  proper 
subjects,   as  thir  homage  and  present  sent  by  Ehud 
testifyd.     To  the  third,  that  he  had  special  warrant 
to   kill  Eglon  in  that  manner,   it  cannot  bee  granted 
because   not   expressd;    tis   plain,    that  he  was  raysd 
3"  by   God         be   a  Deli-,  t  er.   and   went  on  just  prin- 
ciples, su.  Ii  as  were  then  and  ever  held  allowable    to 
deale   so    by   a  Tyrant  that  could    no    otherwise   be 
dealt  with.     Neither  did  Samuell  though  a  Profet    with 
his  owne  hand   abstain    from  Agag:  a  fonen  enemie 

'   S«C.  ed.  whatn-er. 


Thi  Tnur,  tf  Kings  and  Magittrales  23 

no  doubt:  but  mark  the  reason',  A.  thy  «.„rd  A„M 
,nad,  «„«„  chm..,:  a  cause  that  by  the  sentence 
of  Law  .,  selfe  nullifies  all  relations,  and  as  the  Law 
1^  between  Brother  and  Brother.  Father  and  Son, 
Master  and  Servant,  wherfore  not  between  King  o^ 
rather  Tyrant  and  People?  And  whereas  Jm«  had 
specrnl  command  to  slay  J,A<,™«,  a  successive  and 
hered.tane  Tyrant,  it  seemes  not  the  less  imitable  for 
that;  for  where  a  thing  grounded  so  much  on  natural 
reason  hath  the  addition  of  a  command  from  God  ,. 
what  does  it  but  establish  the  lawfulness  of  such  an 
act.  Nor  is  it  likely  that  God  who  had  so  many 
wayes  of  punish..;  the  house  of  Ahab  would  have 
sent  a  subject   against    his    Prince,   if  the   fact   in  it 

TaTJ°1  '°  "  ■^y*"'  '■^•^  '"'"  "f  bad  example.,. 
And  ifDamd  refusd  to  lift  his  hand  against  the  Lords 
anomted,  the  matter  between  them  was  not  tyranny 
but  private  enmity,  and  David  as  a  private  person 
had  bm  his  own  revenger,  not  so  much  the  peoples'- 
but  when  any  tyrant  at  this  day  can  shew  to  be  the  ., 
Lords  anointed,  the  onely  mentiond  reason  why  David 
withheld  his  hand,  he  may  then  but  not  till  then  pre- 
sume on  the  same  privilege. 

We   may   pass   therfore  hence  to  Christian  times. 
And  first  our  Saviour  himself,  how  much  he  favourd ., 
lyrants  and  how  much  intended  they  should  be  found 
or  honourd  among  Christians,  declares  his  minde  not 
obscurely;  accounting  thir  absolute  autoritie  no  better 
then  Gentihsme,  yea   though   they  flourishd  it  over 
with  the  splendid  name  of  benefactors;  charging  those  ,. 
that  would  be  his  Disciples  to  usurp  no  such  dominion 
but  that  they  who  were  to  bee  of  most  autoritie  among 
them,  should  esteem  themselves  Ministers  and  Servants 
'  Sentence  enda  here  in  sec.  ed. 
'  A  period  raplecea  the  semicolon  in  sec.  ed. 


.!i 


U  Tie  Ttnure  ofKingi  and  Magistratis 

to  the  public.     Matt.  80.  25.     The  Princa  of  the  Qm- 
hla  txtrcUe  Lordtkip  over  tktm,  and  Mark  10.48.     Thtu 
thai  $em  to  nde,  saith  he,  either  alighting  or  accoun- 
ting them  no  lawful  rulers,  but  y«  thall  not  bt  »,  bM 
1  the  grtaUtt  among  you  thall  bt  your  Sirvanl.    And  al- 
though hee  himself  were  the  meekest,  and  came  on 
earth  to  be  so,  yet  to  a  Tyrant  we  hear  him  not  vout- 
safe  an  humble  word :  but  T,ll  thai  fox,  Luc.  18  '    And 
wherfore  did  his  Mother,  the  Virgin  Man,  give  such 
..  praise  to  God  in  her  profetic  song,  that  he  had  now 
by  the  comming  of  Christ,  CutI  down  Dynatta',  or  proud 
Monarch,  from  the  throne,  if  the  Church,   when  God 
manifests  his  power  in  them  to  doe  so,  should  rather 
choose  all  miserie  and  vassalage  to  serve  them,  and 
-.  let  them  still  sit  on  thir  potent  seats  to  bee  ador'd 
for  doing  mischiefe.     Surely  it  is  not  for  nothing  that 
tyrants  by  a  kind  of  natural  instinct  both  hate  and 
fcare  none  more  then  the  true  Church  and  Saints  of 
God    as  the  most  dangerous  enemies  and  subverters 
-of  Monarchy,   though   indeed   of  tyranny:   hath  not 
this   bin   the  perpetual   cry  of  Courtiers,  and  Court 
Prelates?  where  of  no  likelier  cause  can  be  allegd 
but  that  they  well  discem'd  the  mind  and  principles 
of  most  devout  and  zealous  men,  and  indeed  the  very 
..  discipline  of  Church,  tending  to  the  dissolution  of  all 
tyranny.    No  marvel  then,  if  since  the  faith  of  Christ 
receavd,  m  purer  or  impurer  times,  to  depose  a  Kinc 
and  put  him  to  death  for  tyranny  hath  bin  accounted 
so  just  and  requisit,  that  neighbour  Kings  have  both 
3.  upheld   and   tak'n    part    with    subjects  in  the  action. 
And  Ludovicu,  Km,  himself  an  Emperor,  and  sonne 

,>.  ',  ^L!*'  "'"''  "^'°  '"  "•  "'«'"  to  !>•  from  thinking 
tt«  Chrirt  and  U,  Gospel  should  be  m«ie  .  Sanctuary  for 
Ty^ntt  from  ju.tlc,  to  whom  hie  Law  befo«  never  ga™  .uch 


Tht  Tenure  of  King,  „J  Magistrates  j  5 

of  Ch»rl„  the  great,  being  m.de  Judge,  Du  UaUlan 

and  h«  Subjects,  who  had  depcd  him,  gave  his  ver- 
d.t  for  the  subjects,  and  for  him  whom  they  had 
chos  n  in  his  room.  Note  here  that  the  right  of  elec-  . 
ting  whom  they  please  is  by  the  impartial  testimony 
of  an  Empernr  in  ,he  people.  For,  said  he.  A  jJt 
Pnnce  ouyht  to  be  pr.fer'd  before  an  «^ju,t.  and  the  end 
of  soterment  before  the  prerogative.     And  Conttanlinn, 

TT:  T      J  ^""P""  '"    "''  ***"»"'"   Laws  saith, .. 
that  the  end  of  a  King  i,  for  the  general  good,   which 
he  not  performing  u  but  the  counterfet  of  a  King.     And  to 
prove  that  some  of  our  owne  Monarchs  have  acknow- 
ledgd    that    thir    high    office    exempted    them    not 
from  pumshraent,  they  had  the  Sword  of  St.  Eduard .. 
born  before  them  by  an  Officer,  who  was  calld  Earle 
of  the  Palace,  eevn  at  the  times  of  thir  highest  pomp 
and  solemn.tie',  to  mind  them,  saith  Matthew  Pari, 
•he  best  of  our  Historians,  that  if  they  errd,  the  Sword 
had  power  to  restraine  them.    And  what  restraint  the  „ 
Sword   comes   to  at   length,   having  both  edge  and 
point.  If  any  Sceptic  will  needs'  doubt,  let  him  feel 
It  IS  also  affirmd  from  diligent  search   made  in  our 
ancient  books  of  Law,  that  the  Peers  and  Barons  of 
England  had  a  legal  right  to  judge  the  King:  which., 
was   the  cause  most  likely,   for  it  could  be  no  slieht 
cause,  that  they  were  call'd  his  Peers,  or  equals.    This 
however  may  stand  immovable,  so  long  as  man  hath 
to  deale  with  no  better  then  man;  that  if  our  Law 
judge  all  men  to  the  lowest  by  thir  Peers,  it  should  „ 
m  all  equity  ascend  also,  and  judge  the  highest.     And 
so  much  I  find  both  in  our  own  and  forren  Storie, 
that  Dukes,  Earles,  and  Marqueses  were  at  first  noi 
•  Sec.  ed.  has  plural  form. 
'  Sec.  ed.  omits  rueds. 


MCROCOrr   tISOlUTION   TIST   CHART 

(ANSI  and  ISO  TEST  CHART  No    2) 


1.0 


I.I 


12.2 


1^ 


mmi^ 


/APPLIED  IM/IGE    In, 


(716)   «B2  -0300  -  PI 


36 


Tie  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistraus 


hereditary,  not  empty  and  vain  titles,  but  names  of 
trust  and  office,  and  with  the  office  ceasing,  as  induces 
me  to  be  of  opinion,  that  every  worthy  man  in  Parla- 
ment,  for  the  word  Baron  imports  no  more,  might  for 
s  the  public  good  be  thought  a  fit  Peer  and  judge  of 
the  King;  without  regard  had  to  petty  caveats  and 
circumstances,  the  chief  impediment  in  high  affairs, 
and  ever  stood  upon  most  by  circumstantial  men. 
Whence  doubtless  our  Ancestors  who  were  not  igno- 

"  rant  with  what  rights  either  Nature  or  ancient  Con- 
stitution had  endowd  them,  when  Oaths  both  at  Coro- 
nation, and  renewd  in  Parlament  would  not  serve, 
thought  it  no  way  illegal  to  depose  and  put  to  death 
thir  tyrannous  Kings.     Insomuch  that  the  Parlament 

■5  drew  up  a  charge  against  Riehard  the  aeeond,  and  the 
Commons  requested  to  have  judgement  decree'd 
against  him,  that  the  realme  might  not  bee  endangerd. 
And  Peter  Martyr,  a  divine  of  formost  rank,  on  the 
third  of  Judgea  approves  thir  doings.     Sir  Thoma*  Smith 

-  also  a  Protestant  and  a  Statesman,  in  his  Common- 
wealth of  England   putting  the  question  whether  it 
be  lawfuU  to  rise  against  a  Tyrant,  answers,  that  the 
'vulgar  judge  of  it  according  to  the  event,  and  the 
lemed  according  to  the  purpose  of  them  that  do  it. 

•I  But  far  before  these  days,  GUdae,  the  most  ancient 
of  all  our  Historians,  speaking  of  those  times  wherein 
the  Roman  Empire  decaying  quitted  and  relinquishd 
what  right  they  had  by  Conquest  to  this  Hand,  and 
resign'd  it  all  into  the  peoples  hands,  testifies  that 

»»the  people  thus  re-invested  with  thir  own  original 
right,  about  the  year  446,  both  elected  them  Kings, 
whom  they  thought  best  (the  first  Christian  British 
Kings  that  ever  raign'd  heer  since  the  Romans)  and 
by  the  same  right,  when  they   apprehended  cause. 

15  usuaUy  depos'd  and  put  them  to  death.    This  is  the 


The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magisn-atii  27 

of  which,  all  o  her  titl-^  and  pleas  are  but  of  V^ter- 
day.    If  any  object  that  GUdas  condemns  the  Britanes 
for  so  doing,  the  answer  is  as  ready;  that  hrco"  , 
demns  then,  no  more  for  so  doing,  then  hee  Jd  be- 
Z.  «    •='"'T^/"='''  f".  »»i*  he,   r*«y  anointed 

M«  tt.  r«*.    Next  hee  condemns  them  not  at  all  for 
deposing  or  putting  them  to  death,  but  for  doing"  .. 
ov«    hastly    without  tryal    or    well   examiningTe 
ca,«e,  and  for  electing  others  worse  in  thir  f 00m 
Thus  we  have  heer  both  Domestic  and  most  ancient 

to  Tea  r.h   '1^'""=°'"'  ofBritainhavedeposd  and  pu 
to  death  th.r  Kmgs  in  those  primitive  Christian  times. ., 
And  to  couple  reason  with  example,  if  the  Church 
•n  all  ages,  Ptimitive,  Romish,  or  Protestant  held  I 

ho^h  without  express  warrant  of  Scripture,  to  bring 
mdifferently  both  Kmg  and  Peasant  under  the  utmost 
rigor  of  thir  Canons  and  Censures  Ecclesiastical,  eev'n 
to  the  smiting  him  with  a  final  excommunion  if  he 
pe^«t  impenitent  what  hinders  but  that  the  temporal 
Law  both  may  and  ought,  though  without  a  s,icial 
tex    or  President,   extend  with  like  indifferencVthe .. 

that  capit^ly  offends.  Seeing  that  justice  and  Rel- 
i^on  are  fi-om  tiie  same  God,  and  works  of  justice 
wT^r'i!  acceptable.  Yet  because  that  some 
lately  with  flie  tongues  and  argumente  of  Malignant,. 

P^lat'^"  '""  ^^r'"  """  ""=  P'o-^eedings  no'wTn 
Parlament  against  the   King,   are  without  president 

which  foUow  shall  be  all  Protestant  and  chiefly  PrJby- 


28 


The  Tenure  of  Kings  anJ  Magistrates 


In  the  yeare  1546.     The  Duke  of  Saxmie,  Lantgrate 
ofBessen,  and  the  whole  Protestant  league  raysd  open 
Warr  against  Charles  the  fifth  thir  Emperor,   sent  him 
a  defiance,  renounc'd  all  faith  and  allegeance  toward 
!  him,  and  debated  long  in  Counsel!  whether  they  should 
give  him  so  much  as  the  title  of  Cceaar.     Sleidan.  1.  17. 
Let  all  men  judge  what  this  wanted  of  deposing  or 
of  killing,  but  the  power  to  doe  it. 
In  the  year  1559.     the'  Scotch  Protestants  claim- 
"  ing  promise  of  thir  Queen  Regent  for  libertie  of  con- 
science,   .le  answering  that  promises  were  not  to  be 
claim'd  of  Princes  beyond  what  was  commodious  for 
them  to  grant,  told  her  to  her  face  in  the  Parlament 
then  at  Sterling,  that  if  it  were  so,  they  renounc'd  thir 
■I  obedience ;  and  soone  after  betook  them  to  Armes.  Buch. 
Hist.  1.  16.  certainely  when ;  allegeance   is   renounc'd, 
that  very  hour  the  King  or  Queen  is  in  effect  depos'd. 
In  the  year  1564.     John  Knox  a  most  famous  divine 
and  the  reformer  of  Scotland  to  the  Presbyterian  dis- 
••  cipline,  at  a  generall  Assembly  maintaind  op'nly  in  a 
dispute  against  Lethington  the  Secretary  of  State,  that 
Subjects  might  and  ought  execute  God's  judgements 
upon  'hir  King;  that  the  fact  of  Jehu  and  others  against 
thir  King  having  the  ground  of  Gods  ordinary  com- 
•I  mand  to  put  such  and  such  offenders  to  death  was 
not  extraordinary,  but  to  be  imitated  of  all  that  pre- 
ferr'd  the   honour  of  God  to   the   affection   of  flesh 
and  wicked  Princes ;  that  Kings,  if  they  offend,  have 
no  privilege  to  be  exempted  from  the  punishments 
y  of  Law  more  then  any  other  subject ;   so  that  if  the 
King  be  a  Murderer,  Adulterer,  or  Idolator,  he  should 
suffer  not  as  a  King,  but  as  an  offender:  and  this 
position  hee  repeates  againe  and  againe  before  them. 
Answerable  was  the  opinion  of  John  Craig  another 
'  The  begins  a  new  sentence  in  sec.  ed. 


The  Ttnure  cf  Kings  and  Magistrate!  a, 

learned  Divine,  and  that  Lawes  made  by  the  tyranny 
ofPrmces.  or  the  negligence  of  people,  thir  po.te„,y 
m,gh,  abrogate  and  reform  all  things  according  to 
the  ongmal  mstitutton  of  Common-welths '.  Ind 
Knox  bemg  commanded  by  the  Nobilitie  to  write  to  , 
<^h^  and  other  learned  men  for  thir  judgements  Z 

was  fully  resolvd  m  conscience,  and  had  heard  thir 
^.dgements",  and  had  the  same  opinion  under  hand- 
wn  mg  of  many  the  most  godly  and  most  learned  .. 
that  he  knew  in  Europe;  that  if  he  should  moveT 
question  to  them  againe,  what  should  he  doe  but 
shew  his  owne  forgetfulness  or  inconstancy.     All  thl 

Lr.TT   '"f^   '■"   *<=   Ecclesiastic  Hisrovo 

S  the  h     .    ""'  "''"^  °*^^  P-^^g-  '»  »"-  effect  . 
all  the  book  over;  set  out  with  diligence  by  Scotch- 
men of  best  repute  among  them  at  the  be  Jnn'ng  of 
these  troubles    as  if  they  labourd  to  infonf  us  what 

ir:orsi:r°^^"'''^'''"*^^'"™"p<""He 

And  to  let  the  world  know  that  the  whole  Church" 
and  Protes  ant  State  r'     otland  in  those  purest  time, 
of  reformafon,  were  o.   .„e  same  beleif,  "ihree  yeat 
after,  they  met  m  the  feild  Mary  thir  lawful  and  hered- 
S  t:T  •°'''  "-r^-r,  yeilding  before  ^ht, ., 

And  four  years  after  that,  the  Scots  in  justification 
of    h,r  deposing  Queen  Mary,  sen,  Embassadors  to 
Queen  EUzaietk,  and  in  a  writfn  Declaration  alleagd  3. 
that  they  had  us'd  towards  her  more  lenity  then  shee 

in  '>n!°°™°  "  """^"^  "  "'='"'"'•  '  '■«*'»  '"t™  "»  P"c. 
■  The  word  1b  singular  in  sec.  ed. 
«2 


30 


The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 


deserv'd:  that  thir  Ancestors  had  Heretofore  punishd 
thir  Kings  by  death  or  banishment;  that  the  Scots 
were  a  free  Nation,  made  King  whom  they  freely 
chose,  and  with  the  same  freedom,  un-Kingd  him  if 

s  they  saw  cause,  by  right  of  ancient  laws  and  Cere- 
monies yet  remaining,  and  old  customes  yet  among 
the  High-landers  in  choosing  the  head  of  thir  Clanns, 
or  FamiUes ;  all  which  with  many  more  arguments 
bore  witness  that  regal  power  was  nothing  else  but 

«« a  mutuall  Covnant  or  stipulation  between  King  and 
people.  Buck.  Hist.  1.  20.  These  were  Scotchmen  and 
Presbyterians;  but  what  measure  then  have  they 
lately  offer'd,  to  think  such  liberty  less  beseeming 
us  then  themselves,  presuming  to  put  him  upon  us 

15  for  a  Maister  whom  thir  law  scarce  allows  to  be  thir 
own  equall?  If  now  then  we  heare  them  in  another 
straine  then  heretofore  in  the  purest  times  of  thir 
Church,  we  may  be  confident  it  is  the  voice  of  Fac- 
tion speaking  in  them,  not  of  truth  and  Reformation.* 

•>  In  the  year  1581.  the  States  of  Holland^  in  a  gene- 
ral Assembly  at  the  Uague^  abjur'd  all  obedience  and 
subjection  to  Philip  King  of  Spaine ;  and  in  a  Decla- 
ration justice  thir  ;  o  doing ;  for  that  by  his  tyrannous 


*  Sec.  ed.  adds :  '  What  no  less  in  England  then  in  Scotland, 
by  the  monthes  of  those  faithful  Witnesses  commonly  call'd 
Foritans,  and  Nonconformists,  spake  as  clearly  for  the  putting 
down,  yea  the  atmost  punishing  of  Kings,  as  in  thir  several 
Treatises  may  be  read;  eev'n  from  the  first  raigne  of  Elizabeth 
to  these  times.  Insomuch  that  one  of  them,  whose  name  was 
Gibsorif  foretold  Jamei^  he  should  be  rooted  out  and  conclude  his 
race,  if  he  persisted  to  uphold  Bishops.  And  that  very  inscrip- 
tion dtampt  upon  the  first  Coines  at  his  Coronation,  a  naked 
Sword  In  a  hand  with  these  words,  Si  mereor^  in  nu.  Against  me, 
if  I  deserve^  not  only  manifested  the  judgement  of  that  State, 
but  seem'd  also  to  presage  the  sentence  of  Divine  justice  in  this 
event  upon  his  Son.* 


The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates  31 

goverment  against  faith  so  oft'n'  giv'n  and  brokn, 
he  had  lost  his  right  to  all  the  Belgic  Provinces; 
that  therfore  they  deposd  him  and  declard  it  lawful 
to  choose  another  in  his  stead.  Thuan.  1.  74.  From 
that  time,  to  this  no  State  or  Kingdom  in  the  World  1 
hath  equally  prosperd:  But  let  them  remember  not 
to  look  with  an  evil  and  prejudicial  eye  upon  thir 
neighbours  walking  by  the  same  rule. 

But  what  need  these  examples  to  Presbyterians,  I 
mean  to  those  who  now  of  late  would  seem  so  much  .« 
to  abhorr  deposing,  whenas  they  to  all  Christendom 
have  giv'n  the  latest  and  the  liveliest  example  of 
doing  it  themselves.  I  question  not  the  lawfulness  of 
raising  Warr  against  a  Tyrant  in  defence  of  Religion, 
or  civil  libertie ;  for  no  Protestant  Church  from  the  n 
first  Waldenaes  of  Lyons,  and  Languedoc  to  this  day 
but  have  don  it  round,  and  maintaind  it  lawfull.  But 
this  I  doubt  not  to  affirme,  that  the  Presbyterians, 
who  now  so  much  condemn  deposing,  were  the  men 
themselves  that  deposd  the  King,  and  cannot  with  » 
all  thir  shifting  and  relapsing,  wash  off  the  guiltiness 
from  thir  owne  hands.  For  they  themselves,  by  these 
thir  late  doings  have  made  it  guiltiness,  and  tumd 
thir  own  warrantable  actions  into  Rebellion. 

There  is  nothing  that  so  actually  makes  a  King  of  .1 
England,  as  rightful  possession  and  Supreiiicy  in  all 
causes  both  civil  and  Ecclesiastical;  and  nothing  that 
so  actually  makes  a  Subject  of  England,  us.  those  two 
Oaths  of  Allegeance  and  Supremacy  observd  without 
equivocating,  or  any  mental  reservation.  Out  of  doubt  3. 
then  when  the  King  shall  command  things  already 
constituted  in  Church,  or  State,  obedience  is  the  true 
essence  of  a  subject,  either  to  doe,  if  it  be  lawful. 
or  if  he  hold  the  f.iing  unlawful,  to  submit  to  that 

'  Sec.  ed.  hag  manj/  times. 


.■?2  The  Tenure  0/  Kings  an  J  Magistrates 

penaltie  which  the  Law  imposes,  so  long  as  he  intends 
to  remaine  a  subject.  Therefore  when  the  people  or 
any  part  of  them  shall  rise  against  the  King  and  his 
autority  executing  the  Law  in  any  thing  establishd, 
J  civil  or  ecclesiastical.  I  doe  not  say  it  is  rebellion,  if 
the  thing  commanded,  though  establishd.  be  unlaw- 
full,  and  that  they  sought  first  all  due  means  of  re- 
dress (and  no  man  is  furder  bound  to  Law)  but  I  say 
it  is  an  absolute  renouncing  both  of  Supremacy  and 

"  AUegeance.  which  in  one  word  is  an  actual  and  total 
deposing  of  the  King,  and  the  setting  up  of  another 
supreme  autority  over  them.  And  whether  the  Pres- 
byterians have  not  don  all  this  and  much  more,  they 
will  not   put  mee  I  suppose,  to  reck'n  up   a  seven 

■!  yeares  story  fresh  in  the  memory  of  all  men.  Have 
they  not  utterly  broke  the  Oath  of  AUegeance,  re- 
jecting the  Kings  command  and  autority  sent  them 
from  any  part  of  the  Kingdom,  whether  in  things 
law.ul  or  unlawful?     Have  they  not  abjur'd  the  Oath 

•-of  Supremacy  by  setting  up  the  Parlament  without 
the  King,  supreme  to  all  thir  obedience,  and  though 
thir  Vow  and  Covnant  bound  them  in  general  to  the 
Parlament,  yet  somtimes  adhering  to  the  lesser  part 
of  Lords  and  Commons  that  remain'd  faithful,  as  they 

>s  terme  it,  and  eev'n  of  them,  one  while  to  the  Com- 
mons without  the  Lords,  anof  .r  while  to  the  Lords 
without  the  Commons?  Have  they  not  still  declar'd 
thir  meaning,  whatever  their  Oath  were,  to  hold  them 
onely   for  supreme   whom   they   found   at  any   time 

3»  most  yeilding  to  what  they  petitioned  ?  Both  these 
Oaths  which  were  the  straitest  bond  of  an  English 
subject  in  reference  to  the  King,  being  thus  broke 
and  made  voide,  it  follows  undeniably  that  the 
King  from  that  time  was  by  them  in  fact  absolutely 

3!  deposd.  and  they  no  Ion  er  in  reality  to  be  thought 


The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates  33 

his  subjects,  notwithstanding  thir  fine  clause  in  the 
Covnant  to  preserve  his  person,  Crown,  and  dignitie, 
set  there  by  som  dodging  Casuist  with   more    craft 
then   sinceritie   to   mitigate   the  matter  in  case  of  ill 
success,  and  not  tak'n  I  suppose  by  any  honest  man,  s 
but  as  a  condition   subordinate    to   every   the   least 
particle  that  might  more  conceme  Religion,  liberty, 
or  the  public  peace.     To  prove  it  yet  more  plainly 
that  they  are  the  men  who  have  deposd  the  King, 
I  thus  argue.    We  know  that  King  and  Subject  ate  ■• 
relatives,  and  relatives  have  no  longer  being  then  in 
the  relation;  the  relation  between  King  and  Subject, 
can  be  no  other  then  regal  autority  and  subjection. 
Hence  I  inferr  past  their  defending,  that  if  the  Subject 
who  is  one  relative,  takes'  away  the  relation,  of  force  "i 
he  takes  away  also  the  other  relative:  but  the  Pres- 
byterians, who  were  one  relative,  that  is  say  subjects, 
have  for  this  sev'n  years  tak'n  away  the  relation,  that 
is  to  say,  the  Kings  autoritie,  and  thir  subjection  to 
it,  therfore  the  Presbyterians  for  these  sev'n  yeares  ■» 
have  removd  and  extinguish'  the  other  relative,  that 
is  to  say  the  King,  or  to  speake  more  in  brief  have 
deposd  him;   not  onely  by  depriving  him   the  exe- 
cution  of  his   autoritie,   but  ■  by    conferring    it   upon 
others.     If  then  thir  Oathes  of  subjection  brok'n.  new  « 
Supremacy  obeyd,  new  Oaths  and  Covnants  tak'n, 
notwithstanding   frivolous  evasions,    have    in    plaine 
termes  unking'd  the  King,  much  more  then  hath  thir 
sev'n  yeares  Warr  not  deposd  him  onely,  but  out- 
lawd  him,  and  defi'd  him  as  an  alien,  a  rebell  to  Law,  i" 
and  enemie  to  the  State.    It  must  needs  be  cleare  to 
any  man  not  averse  from  reason,  that  hostilitie  and 
subjection  are  two  direct  and  positive  contraries;  and 
^  Sec  ed.  ta*e. 
■  S«c  ed.  extinguished. 


34 


The  Tenure  of  Kwfi  and  Majfiilrates 


can  no  more  in  one  subject  stand  to);ether  in  respect 
of  the  same  King,  then  one  person  at  the  san- ,  time 
can  be  in  two  remote  places.  Against  whom  ther- 
fore  the  Subject  is  in  act  of  hostility  we  may  be  con- 
sfident  that  to  him  he  is  in  no  subjection:  and  in 
whom  hostility  takes  place  of  subjection,  foi  they 
can  by  no  meanes  consist  together,  to  him  the  King 
can  bee  not  onely  no  King,  but  an  enemie.  So  that 
from  hence  wee  shall  not  need  dispute  whether  they 
"have  depos'd  him,  or  what  they  have  defaulted  to- 
wards him  as  no  King,  but  shew  manifestly  how  much 
they  have  don  toward  the  killing  him.  Have  they 
not  levied  all  these  Warrs  against  him  whether  of- 
fensive  or   defensive   (for  defence    in  Warr    equally 

■5  offends,  and  most  prudently  before  hand)  and  giv'n 
Commission  to  slay  where  they  knew  his  person 
could  not  bee  exempt  from  danger  ?  And  if  chance 
or  flight  had  not  .savd  him,  how  oft'n  had  they  killd 
him,  directing  thir  Artillery  without  blame  or  prohibition 

..  to  the  very  place  where  they  saw  him  stand  ?  And 
converted  his  revenew  to  other  uses,  and  detaind 
from  him  all  meanes  of  livelyhood,  so  that  for  them 
long  since  he  might  have  perisht,  or  have  starvd?' 
Have  they  -.ot  hunted  and  pursu'd  him  round  about 

'!  the  Kingdom  with  sword  and  fire  ?  Have  they  not 
formerly  deny'd  to  treat  with  him,  and  thir  now  re- 
canting Ministers  preachd  against  him,  as  a  reprobate 
incurable,  an  enemy  to  God  and  his  church  markt 
for  destruction,  and  therfore  not  to  bee  treated  with? 

2« Have  they  not  beseigd  him,  and  to  thir  power  forbid 

'  The  sentence  reads  thns  in  sec.  ed. :  '  Have  they  not  se- 
qnester'd  him,  jndg'd  or  nnjudg'd,  and  converted  his  revenew  'o 
other  uses,  detaining  from  him  as  a  grend  Delinqnent,  aU  meanes 
of  livelyhood,  so  that  for  them  lonf  ^ince  he  might  have  perisht 
or  have  starv'd  ? '  ' 


The  Tenure  cf  Kings  and  Magislrales  35 

him  Water  and  Fire,  save  what  they  shot  against  him 
to  the  hazard  of  his  life  ?    Yet  while  they  thus  as- 
saulted ar-1    endangerd   it   with   hostile  deeds,   they 
•wore   in   words   to   defend   it   with   his  Crown   and 
dignity;  not  in  order,  as  it  seems  now,  to  a  firm  .ind . 
lasting  peace,  or  to  his  repentance  after  all  this  blood  • 
but  simply  without  regard,  without   remorse   or  any 
comparable  value  of  all  the  miseries  and  calamities 
sufferd  by  the  poore  people,   or  to  suffer   hereafter 
through   his   obstinacy  or  impenitence.     No   under-., 
standing  man  can  be  ignorant  that  Covnants  are  ever 
made  a.cording  to  the  present  state  of  persons  and 
of  thing;  ;  and  have  ever  the  more  general  laws  of 
nature  and  of  reason  included  in  them,  though  not 
express'd.     If  I  make  a   voluntary  Covnant  as   with  .5 
a  man   to  doe  him  good,  and  hee   prove  afterward 
a  monster  to  me,  I  should  conceave  a  disobligement. 
If  I  covnant,  not  to  hurt  an  enemie,  in  favor  of  him 
and  forbearance,  and  ho        f  his  amendment,  and  he, 
after  that,  shall  doe  me  tenfould  injury  and  mischief., 
to  what  hee  had  don  when  I  =0  Covnanted,  and  stil! 
be  plotting  what  may  tend  to  my  destruction,  I  question 
not  but  that  his  after  actions  release  me;  nor  know 
I   Covnant   so  sacred   that  withhoMs   mee   from   de- 
manding justice    on    him,      Howbeit,    >,ad    not    thir.s 
distrust  in  a  good  cause,  and  t.ie  fast  and  loos  of 
our  prevaricatinor    Divines   overswayd,    it    had    bin 
doubtless  better,    _ot  to  have  inserted  in  a  Covnant 
unnecessary    obligations,    and   words    not    works    of 
a  supererogating  Allegeance  to  thir  enemy;  no  way,, 
advantageous  to  themselves,  had  the  King  prevaild 
as  to  t  ir  cost  many  would  have  felt;  but  full  of  snare 
and  distraction  to   our  friends,   useful  onely,   as  we 
now  find,  to  our  adversaries,  who  under  such  a  lati- 
tude and  shelter  of   ambiguous   interpretation    have  3s 


36 


The  Ttnurc  s/ Kingi  and  ivtagistraies 


ever  since  I.een  plotting  and  contriving  new  opportu- 
nities to  trouble  all  againe.     How  much  better  had  it 
bin.    and   more    becoming   an    undaunted    vertue    to 
have  declard  op'niy  and  boldly  whom  and  what  j,       ,r 
J  the  people  were  to  hold  Supreme,  as  on  the  like  oc- 
casion Protestants  have  don  before,  and  many  con- 
scientious men  now  in  these  times  have  more  then 
once  besought  the  parlament  to  doe.  that  they  might 
go  on  upon  a  sure  foundation,  and  not  with  a  ridling 
"  Covnant  in  thir  mouthes  seeming  to  sweare  counter 
almost  in   the  same  breath  Allegeance   and   no  Al- 
legeance;    which    doubtless    had    drawn    off   all    the 
minds  of  sincere  men  from  siding  with  them,  had  they 
not  discem'd  thir  actions  farr  more  deposing  him  then 
■J  thir  words  upholding  him ;  which  words  made  now 
the  subject  of  cavillous  interpretations,  stood  ever  in 
the  Covnant  by  judgement  of  the  more  discerning 
sort  an   evidence   of  thir  feare  not   of  thir  fidelity. 
What  should  I  return  to  speak  on,  of  those  attempts 
» for  which   the    King  himself  hath   oft'n   charg'd  the 
Presbyte-ians  of  seeking  his  life,  whenas  in  the  due 
estimation  of  things,  they  might  without  a  fallacy  be 
■sayd  to  have  don   the  deed  outright.     Who  knows 
not   that  the    King  is  a  name  of  dignity  and  office, 
n  not  of  person :  Who  therefore  kills  a  King,  must  kill 
him  while  he  is  a  King.     Then  they  certainly  who 
by  deposing  him  have  long  since  tak'n  from  him  the 
life  of  a  King,  his  office  and  his  dignity,  they  in  the 
truest  sence  may  be  said  to  have  killd  the  King:  not 
30  onely  by  thir  deposing  a:  d  waging  Warr  against  him, 
which  besides  the  danger  to  his  personal  life,  set  him 
in  the  fardest  opposite  point  from  any  vital  function 
of  a  King,  but  by  thir  holding  him  in  prison  vanquishd 
and  yeilded  into   thi.-  absolute   and   despotic  power, 
!s  which  brought  him  to  the  lowest  degradement  and  in- 


Tht  Tinurt  of  Kings  and  Magisiratis  37 

capacity  of  the  regal  name.    I  say  not  by  whose  match- 
less valour  next  under  God,  lest  th-  story  of  thir  in- 
gratitude thereupon  carry  m.  from  the  purpose  in  IiuikI 
which  is  to  convince  them,  that  they  which  I  repeat 
againe,  were  the  men  who  in  the  truest  sense  killd  the  . 
King,  not  onely  as  is  provd  before,  but  by  depressing 
him   thir   King  fan-    below  the    rank  of  k  subject  to 
the    condition    of   a   Captive,    without    intention    to 
restore  him,  as  the  Chancellour  o!  Scotland  in  a  speech 
told  him  plainly  at  yeucuatle,  unless  hee  granted  fully  ■• 
all   thir       mands.  which  they  knew  he  never  meant. 
Nor  did   they   Treat   or  think   of  Treating  with   him. 
till  thir  hatred  to  the  Army  that  deliverd  them,  not 
thir  love  nr  duty  to  the  King,  jnynd   them   secretly 
with  men  sentencd  so  oft  for  Reprobates  in  thir  own  .s 
mouthes,  by  whose  si     le  inspiring  they  grew  madd 
upon  a  most  tardy  ai      improper  Treaty.     Wheras  if 
the  whole  bent  of  thir  actions  had  not  bin  against 
the  Kinge  himselfe,  but  against  Ms  evill  Councel,'  as 
they   faind.    and    publishd,    wherefon     did  they   not .» 
restore  him  all  that  while  to  the  trn       fe  of  a  KiP'j, 
his  Office,  Crown,  and  Dignity,  whil     ;  e  was  in  thir 
power,  and  they  themselves  his  neerest  Counselers. 
The  truth  therefore  is,  both  that  they  would  not.  and 
that  indeed  they  could  not  without  thir  owne  certaine  « 
destruction,  having  reduc'd  him  to  such  a  final  pass, 
as  was  the  very  death  and  burial  uf  all  in  him  that 
was  regal,  and  from  whence  never  King  of  England 
yet  revivd,  but  by  the  new  re-inforcement  of  his  own 
party,  which  was  a  kind  of  resurrection  to  him.     Thus  1. 
having  quite  extinguisht  all  that  could  be  in  him  of 
a  King,  and  from  a  total  privation  clad  him  over,  like 
another  specifical  thing,    with   formes  and  habitudes 
destructive  to  the  former,  they  left  in  his  person,  dead 

'  Sec.  ed.  iut  only  against  bis  n-itl  iounttltrs. 


38  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 

as  to  Law  and  all  the  civil  right  either  of  King  or 
Subject  the  life  onely  of  a  Prisner,  a  Captive  and  a 
Malefactor.  Whom  the  equal  and  impartial  hand  of 
justice  finding,  was  no  more  to  spare  then  another 
i  ordinary  man ;  not  onely  made  obnoxious  to  the  doome 
of  Law  by  a  c:-arge  more  than  once  drawn  up  against 
him,  and  his  own  confession  to  the  first  article  at 
Neicport,  but  summond  and  arraignd  in  the  sight  of 
God  and  his  people,  curst  and  devoted  to  perdition 
•o  worse  then  any  Ahab,  or  Antioekus,  with  exhortation 
to  curse  all  those  in  the  name  of  God  that  made  not 
warr  against  him,  as  bitterly  as  Meroz  was  to  be  curs'd, 
that  went  not  out  against  a  Canaanitish  King,  almost 
in  all  the  Sermons,  Prayers,  and  Fulminations  that  have 
■s  bin  utterd  this  sev'n  yeares  by  those  clov'n  tongues 
of  falshood  and  dissention,  who  now,  to  the  stirring 
up  of  new  discord,  acquitt  him  ;  and  against  thir  owne 
discipline,  which  they  boast  to  be  the  throne  and 
scepter  of  Christ,  absolve  him,  unconfound  him,  though 

..unconverted,  unrepentant,  unsensible  of  all  thu- 
pretious  Saints  and  Martyrs  whose  blood  they  have 
so  oft  layd  upon  his  head:  and  now  againe  with  a 
new  sovran  anointment  can  wash  it  all  off,  as  if  it 
were  as  vile,  and  no  more  to  be  recknd  for  then  the 

■J  blood  of  so  many  Dogs  in  the  time  of  Pestilence : 
giving  the  most  opprobrious  lye  to  all  the  acted  zeale 
that  for  these  many  years  hath  fiUd  thir  bellies,  and 
fed  them  fatt  upon  the  foolish  people.  Ministers  of 
sedition,  not  of  the  Gospel],   who  while  they  saw  it 

30  manifestly  tend  to  civil  Warr  and  bloodshed,  never 
ceasd  exasperating  the  people  against  him ;  and  now 
that  they  see  it  likely  to  breed  new  commotion,  cease 
not  to  incite  others  against  the  people  that  have  savd 
them  fi-om  him,  as  if  sedition  were  thir  onely  aime, 

j5  whether  against  him  or  for  him.     But  God  as  we  have 


Tht  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates  39 

cause  to  trust,  will  put  other  thoughts  into  the  people, 
and  turn  them  from  looking  after  these  firebrands,' 
of  whose  fury,  and  fals  prophecies  we  have  anough 
experience;   and  from  the  murmurs  of  new  discord 
will  incline  them  to  heark'n  rather  with  erected  minds  5 
to  the  voice  of  our  supreme  Magistracy,  calling  us  to 
liberty  and  the  flourishing  deeds  of  areformed  Common- 
wealth;   with   this  hope  that  as  God  was  heretofore 
angry  with  the  Jews  who  rejected  him  and  his  forme 
of  Goverment  to  choose  a  King,  so  that  he  will  bless  .. 
us,  and  be  propitious  to  us  who  reject  a  King  to  make 
him  onely  our  leader  and  supreme  govemour  in  the 
conformity  as   neer  as  may  be   of  his  own  ancient 
goverment ;  if  we  have  at  least  but  so  much  worth  in 
us  to  entertaine  the  sense  of  our  future  happiness,  is 
and  the  courage  to  receave  what  God  voutsafes  us: 
wherin  we  have  the  honour  to  precede  other  Nations 
who  are  now  labouring  to  be  our  followers.     For  as 
to  this  question  in  hand  what  the  people  by  thir  just 
right  may  doe  in  change  of  goverment,  or  of  gover- «. 
nour,  we  see  it  cleerd  sufficiently ;  besides  other  ample 
autority  eev'n  from  the  mouths  of  Princes  themselves. 
And  surely  that  shall  boast,  as  we  doe,  to  be  a  free 
Nation,   and   not  have   in   themselves  the  power  to 
remove,    or  to  abolish   any   govemour  supreme,   or  ■! 
subordinate  >  with  the  goverment  itself  upon  urgent 
causes,  may  please  thir  fancy  with  a  ridiculous  and 
painted  freedom,  fit  to  coz'n  babies;  but  are  indeed 
under  tyranny  and  servitude ;  as  wanting  that  power, 
which  is  the  root  and  sourse  of  all  liberty,  to  dispose  j. 
and  oeemomize  in   the  Land  which  God  hath  giv'n 
them,  as  Maisvers  of  Family  in  thir  own  house  and 

*  S«c.  ed.  reads :  '  and  tnm  them  from  giving  eare  or  heed 
to  these  Meivenaiy  notsemakers.' 

*  A  comma  followu  subordinau  in  sec.  ed. 


40  The  Tenure  ef  Kings  and  Magisn-ates 

free  inheritance.     Without  which  natural  and  essential 
power  of  a  free  Nation,    though    bearing    high  thir 
heads,  they  can  in  due  esteem  be  thought  no  better 
then    slaves    and    vassals   bom,    in    the    tenure   and 
J  occupation  of  another  inheriting  Lord.     Whose  g     er- 
ment.  though  not  illegal,  or  intolerable,  hangs       er 
them  as  a  Lordly  scourge,   not   as  free  govermc.f 
and  therfore  to  be  abrogated.    How  much  more  justly 
then   may  they  fling   off  tyranny  or   tyrants?'  who 
"  bemg  once  depos'd  can  be  no  more  then  privat  men 
as  subject  to  the  reach  of  Justice  and  arraignment  as 
any  other  transgressors.     And  certainly  if  men,  not  to 
speak  of  Heathen,  both  wise  and  Religious  have  don 
justice  upon  Tyrants  what  way  they  could  soonest 
>5  how  much  more  mild  and  human  then  is  it  to  give 
them  faire  and  opn  tryall?  To  teach  lawless  Kings 
und  all  that'  so   much  adore  them,   that  not  mortal 
man,  or  his  imperious  will,  but  Justice  is  the  onely 
true  sovran  and  supreme  Majesty  upon  earth     Let 
~men  cease  therfore  out  of  faction  and  hypocrisie  to 
make  out-crys  and  horrid  things  of  things  so  just  and 
honorable.  •    And  if  the  Parlament  and  Military  Councel 
do  what   they  doe   without  president,    if  it  appeare 
thir  duty.   It  argues  the   more  wisdom,  vertue,   and 
'.magnanimity,  that  they  know'  themselves  able  to  be 
a  president  to  others.     Who  perhaps  in  future  ages 

'  The  quesHon-mark  Is  replaced  by  a  semicolon  In  sec.  ed 
'  Sec.  ed.  who. 

^.  wh^rf  r  "-  \'''°^'^  "^  '"™  "P'-^y  P-"  *°  death  air 
King,  which  lately  some  have  writt'n,  and  Imputed  to  thir  great 
glory ;  mnch  ■mstaking  the  matter.  It  Is  not,  neither  ongM  to 
be  the  gloo'  of  a  Protestant  State,  never  to  have  pnt  thlf  King 

*  Sec.  ed.  *««». 


The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates  41 

if  they  prove  not  too   degenerat,   will   look   up  with 
honour  and  aspire  toward  these  exemplary.and  matchless 
deeds  of  thir  Ancestors,  as  to  the  highest  top  of  thir 
civil  glory  and  emulation.    Which  heretofore  in  the 
persuance  of  fame  and  forren  dominion  spent  it  self  j 
vain-gloriously  abroad;   but   henceforth   may  learn  a 
better   fortitude   to   dare    execute  highest  Justice  on 
them   that   shall   by  force    of  Armes   endeavour   the 
oppressing  and  bereaving  of  Religion  and  thir  liberty 
at  home :  that  no  unbridl'd  Potentate  or  Tyrant,  but  ■<. 
to  his  sorrow  for  the  future,  may  presume  such  high 
and  irresponsible   licence  over  mankinde  to  havock 
and   turn   upside-down   whole   Kingdoms   of  men  as 
though  they  were  no  more  in  respect  of  his  perverse 
will  then  a  Nation  of  Pismires.     As  for  the  party  calld  u 
Presbyterian,  of  whom  I  beleive  very  many  to  be  good 
and  faithful  Christians   misled  by  som   of  turbulent 
spirit,  I  wish  them  earnestly  and   calmly  not  to   fall 
off  from  thir  first  principles :   nor  to  affect  rigor  and 
superiority  over  men  not  under  them ;  not  to  compell  " 
unforcible  things  in  Religion  especially,  which  if  not 
voluntary,  becomes  a  sin;    nor  to  assist  the  clamor 
and  malicious  drifts  of  men  whom  they  themselves 
have  judg'd   to   be  the  worst   of  men,   the    obdurat 
enemies  of  God  and  his  Church ;  nor  to  dart  against  "j 
the  actions  of  thir  brethren,  for  want  of  other  argument 
those  wrested  Lawes  and  Scriptures  thrown  by  Prelats 
and  Malignants  against  thir  own  sides,  which  though 
they  hurt  not  otherwise,  yet  tak'n  up  by  them  to  the 
condemnation  of  thir  own  doings,  give  scandal  to  all  30 
men  and  discover  in  themselves  either  extreamepassion, 
or  apostacy.    Let  them  not  oppose  thir  best  friends 
and  associats  who  molest  them   not  at  all,   infringe 
not   the   least   of  thir  liberties;    unless   they    call    it 
thir  liberty  to  bind  other  mens  consciences,  but  are  3s 


4»  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 

still  seeking  to  live  at  peace  with  them  and  brotherly 
accord.  Let  them  beware  an  old  and  perfet  enemy, 
who  though  he  hope  by  sowing  discord  to  make  them 
his  instruments,  yet  cannot  forbeare  a  minute  the  op'n 
s  threatning  of  his  destind  revenge  upon  them,  when 
they  have  servd  his  purposes.  Let  them  feare  ther- 
fore,  if  they  bee  wise,  rather  what  they  have  don 
already,  then  what  remaines  to  doe,  and  be  wam'd  in 
time  they  put  no  confidence  in  Princes  whom  they 

"have  provokd,  lest  they  be  added  to  the  examples 
of  those  that  miserably  have  tasted  the  event.  Stories 
can  inform  them  how  Cliristiem  the  second.  King  of 
Denmark  not  much  above  a  hundred  yeares  past, 
driv'n  out  by  his  Subjects,  and  receavd  againe  upon 

■!  new  Oaths  and  conditions,  ■  broke  through  them  all 
to  his  most  bloody  revenge ;  slaying  his  cheif  opposers 
when  he  saw  his  time,  both  them  and  thir  children 
invited  to  a  feast  for  that  purpose.  How  Maximilian 
dealt  with  those  of  Brue/et,   though  by  mediation  of 

■» the  German  Princes  reconcild  to  them  by  solemn  and 
pubUc  writings  drawn  and  seald.  How  the  massacre 
at  Paris  was  the  effect  of  that  credulous  peace  which 
the  French  Protestants  made  with  Charles  the  ninth 
thir  king:  and  that  the  main  visible  cause  which  to 

..  this  day  hath  savd  the  Netherlands  from  utter  ruine, 
was  thir  finall  not  beleiving  the  perfidious  cruelty 
which  as  a  constant  maxim  of  State  ha..i  bin  us'd  by 
the  Spanish  Kings  on  thir  Subjects  that  have  tak'n 
armes  and  after  trusted  them ;  as  no  later  age  but  can 

JO  testifie,  heretofore  in  Belgia  it  self,  and  this  very  y.are 
in  Naples.  And  to  conclude  with  one  past  exception, 
though  fan-  more  ancient,  David,  when  once  hee  had 
tak'n  Armes,  never  after  that  trusted  Saul,  though  with 
tears  and  much  relenting  he  twise  promis'd  not  to 
35  hurt    him.      These    instances,    few    of  many,    might 


The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 


43 


admonish  them  both  English  and  Scotch  not  to  let 
thir  owne  ends,  and  the  driving  on  of  a  faction 
betray  them  blindly  into  the  snare  of  those  enemies 
whose  revenge  looks  on  them  as  the  men  who  first 
begun,  fomented  and  cairi'd  on  beyond  the  cure  of  s 
any  sound  or  safe  accomodation  all  the  evil  which 
hath  since  unavoidably  befall'n  them  and  thir  king. 
I  have  something  also  to  the  Divines,  though  brief 
to  what  were  needfuU;  not  to  be  disturbers  of  the 
civil  affairs,  being  in  hands  better  able,  and  more  ■• 
belonging,  to  manage  them ;  but  to  study  harder  and 
to  attend  the  office  of  good  Pastors,  knowing  that 
he  whose  flock  is  least  among  them  hath  a  dreadfiill 
charge,  not  performd  by  mounting  twise  into  the 
chair  with  a  formal  preachment  huddl'd  up  at  the  "i 
odd  hours  of  a  whole  lazy  week,  but  by  incessant 
pains  and  watching  in  season  and  out  of  season,  from 
house  to  house  over  the  soules  of  whom  they  have  to 
feed.  Which  if  they  ever  well  considerd,  how  little 
leasure  would  they  find  to  be  the  most  pragmatical  •» 
Sidesmen  of  every  popular  tumult  and  Sedition  ?  And 
all  this  while  are  to  leame  what  the  true  end  and 
reason  is  of  the  Gospel  which  they  teach :  and  what 
a  world  it  differs  from  the  censorious  and  supercilious 
lording  over  conscience.  It  would  be  good  also  they  -s 
liv'd  so  as  might  perswade  the  people  they  hated 
covetousness,  which  worse  then  heresie,  is  idolatry; 
hated  pluralities  and  all  kind  of  Simony ;  left  rambling 
from  Benefice  to  Benefice,  like  rav'nous  Wolves,  seek- 
ing where  they  may  devour  the  biggest.  Of  which  s" 
if  som,  well  and  warmely  seated  from  the  beginning, 
be  not  guilty,  twere  good  they  held  not  conversation 
with  such  as  are :  let  them  be  sorry  that  being  call'd 
to  assemble  about  reforming  the  Church,  they  fell 
to  progging  and  solliciting  the  Parlament,  though  31 
h 


44 


"Pie  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 


they  had   renouncd  the  name  of  Priests,  for  a  new 
setting  of  thir  Tithes  and  Oblations ;  and  double  lin'd 
themselves  with  spiritual  places  of  commoditie  beyond 
the   possible  discharge   of  thir  duty.     Let  them  as- 
5  semble  in  Consistorj'  with  thir  Elders  and  Deai   ns, 
according  to  ancient  Ecclesiastical  rule,  to  the  pre- 
serving  of  Church    discipline,    each    in    his   several 
charge,   and   not  a  pack   of  Clergie  men  by  them- 
selves to  belly  cheare  in  thir  presumptuous  Sion,  or 
>•  to  promote  designes,  abuse  and  gull  the  simple  Laity, 
and  stirr  up  tumult,  as  the  Prelats  did,  for  the  mainten- 
ance of  thir  pride  and  avarice.    These  things  if  they 
observe  and  waite  with   patience,   no  doubt  but  all 
things   will   goe  well  without   their  importunities  or 
■s  exclamations :    and    the  Printed    letters   which    they 
send  subscrib'd  with  the  ostentation  of  great  Charac- 
ters and  little  moment,  would  be  more  ccfiderable 
then  now  they  are.    But  if  they  be  the  Ministers  of 
Mammon  instead  of  Christ,  and  scandalize  his  Church 
~  with  the  filthy  love  of  gaine,  aspiring  also  to  sit  the 
closest  and  the  heaviest  of  all  Tyrants,  upon  the  con- 
science, and  fall  notoriously  into  the  same  sins,  where- 
of so   lately  and  so  loud  they  accus'd  the  Prelates, 
as  God  rooted  out  those '  immediately  before,  so  will 
•5  he  root  out  them  thir  imitators :  and  to  vindicate  his 
own  glory  and  Religion  will  uncover  thir  hypocrisie 
to  the  open  world;   and  visit  upon  thir  own  heads 
that  tMrae  ye  Meroz,  the  very  Motto  of  thir  Pulpits, 
wherwith  so  frequently,  not  as  Meroz,  but  more  like 
3«  Atheists  they  have  mock'd '  the  vengeance  of  God, 
and  the  zeale  of  his  people.'    And  that  they  be  not 

*  Sec.  ed.  adds  wicked  ones. 

*  The  sec.  ed.  reads ;  '  Blasphem'd  the  vengeance  of  Ood,  and 
tradnc'd  the  zeale  of  his  people.' 

■  The  first  edjtlon  ends  here. 


The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates  45 

what  they  goe  for,  true  Ministers  of  the  Protestant 
doctrine,  taught  by  those  abroad,  famous  and  religious 
men,  who  first  reformd  the  Church,  or  by  tho."  no 
less  zealous,  who  withstood  corruption  and  th  j  Bish- 
ops heer  at  home,  branded  with  the  name  of  Puri-  j 
tans  and  Nonconformists,  wee  shall  abound  with  testi- 
monies to  make  appeare;  that  men  may  yet  more 
fully  know  the  difference  between  Protestant  Divines 
and  these  Pulpit-firebrands. 

Luther.  „ 

Lib.  contra  Suaticos  apud  Sleidan.     I.  5. 
Is  est  hodie  rerum  status,  etc.     Such   it  the  state  of 
thingt  at  thie  day,  that  men  neither  can,  nor  will,  nor 
indeed   ought   to    endure   longer  the   domination  of  you 
Princes. 

Neque  vero  Caesarem,  etc.     Neither  is  Cmar  to  make 
warr  as  head  of  Christ'ndom,  Protector  of  the  Church. 
Defender  of  the  Faith;  these  Titles  being  fain  and  Windie, 
and  most  Kings   being  the  greatest  Enemies  to  religion. 
Lib.     De  bello  contra  Turcas.   apud  Sleid.  I.  14.     What «. 
hinders  then,  but  that  we  may  depose  or  punish  them  ? 
These  also  are  recited  by  Cochlaeus  in  his  Miecellanie- 
to  be  the  words  of  Luther,  or  some  other  eminer 
Divine,   then  in  Germany,  when  the  Protestants  there 
entred  into  solemn  Covenant  at  Smalcaldia.     Ut  ora  .j 
us   obturem,   etc.     That  I  may   stop  thir  mouthes,   the 
B>pe  and  Emperor  are  not  born  but  elected,   and   may 
also   be   depoa'd,   as  hath  bin  ofl'n  don.     If  Luther,   or 
whoever  els  thought  so,  he  could  not  stay  there ;  for 
the  right  of  birth  or  succession  can  be  no  privilege  3. 
in   nature   to   let  a  Tyrant  sit  irremoveable   over  a 
Nation  free  bom,  without  transforming   that  Nation 
from  the  nature  and  condition  of  men  bom  free,  into 
natural,  hereditary  and  successive  slaves.     Thereforr 
h2 


f) 


46 


The  Tenure  ofKingi  and  Magistralei 


he  saith  furder;  To  ditplacr  and  throw  dmm  thit  Ex- 
actor, thii  Plialari;  this  Nero,  it  a  work  well  pleating 
to  Ood;  Namely,  for  being  such  a  one:  which  is  a 
moral  reason.  Shall  then  so  slight  a  consideration 
J  as  his  happ  to  be  not  elective  simply,  but  by  birth, 
which  was  a  meer  accident,  overthrow  that  which  is 
moral,  and  make  unpleasing  to  God  that  which  other- 
wise had  so  well  pleasd  him?  Certainly  not:  for  if 
the  matter  be  rightly   argu'd,  Election   much   rather 

"  then  chance,  bindes  a  man  to  content  himself  with 
what  he  suffers  by  his  own  bad  Election.  Though 
indeed  neither  the  one  nor  other  bindes  any  man, 
much  less  any  people  to  a  necessary  sufferance  of 
those  wrongs  and  evils,  which  they  have  abilitie  and 

•5  strength  anough  giv'n  them  to  remove. 

Zwinglius.  torn.  I.  articul.  42. 
Quando  vero  perfide,  etc.  When  Kings  raigne  per- 
fidiomly,  and  against  the  rule  of  Christ,  they  may  ac- 
cording to  the  word  of  God  be  depos'd. 
"  Mihi  ergo  compertum  non  est,  etc.  /  know  not  how 
it  comes  to  pass  that  Kings  raigne  by  succession,  unless 
it  be  with  consent  of  the  whole  people,     ibid. 

Quum  vero  consensu,  etc.     But  when  by  suffrage  and 
consent  of  the  whole  people,    or  the  better  part  of  them, 
•5  a  Tyrant  is  depos'd  or  put  to  death,   God  is  the  chief 
leader  in  that  action,     ibid. 

Nunc  cum  tam  tepidii  sumus,  etc.  Now  that  we  are 
so  luke  warm  in  upholding  public  justice,  we  indure  the 
vices  of  Tyrants  to  raigne  now  a  dayes  with  impunity; 
yjustly  therjore  by  them  we  are  trod  underfoot,  and 
shall  at  length  with  them  be  punisht.  Yet  ways  are  not 
wanting  by  which  Tyrants  may  be  remoov'd,  but  there 
wants  public  justice,  ibid. 
Cavete  vobis  6  tyranni,  etc.     Beware  yee  Tyrants 


Tht  Tenure  ofKingt  and  Magistralts  47 

far  n«»  M<  GotpM  0/  Jetiu  Chritt  tprtading  farr  and 
leidt,  will  rnne  the  livei  0/  many  to  tone  imoeenee  and 
jiutice;  which  if  yte  aho  thall  doe,  ym  »hall  ie  honourd. 
But  if  yte  ihall  got  on  to  rage  and  doe  oiolenee,  y<  ihall 
be  tratnpl'd  on  by  all  men.     ibid.  , 

Romanum  imperium  imo  quodq;  etc.  When  the 
Roman  Empire  or  any  other  shall  begin  to  opprets  Religion, 
and  wee  negligently  tuffer  it,  wee  are  aa  much  guilty  of 
Religion  <g  violated,  at  the  Oppressors  themsetvs.  Idem 
epist.  ad  Conrad.  Somium.  „ 

Calvin  on  Daniel,  c.  4.  v.  26. 

Ho<  ie  Monarchae  semper  in  suis  titulis,  etc.  Xow 
adays  Uonarchs  pretend  alwayes  in  thir  Titles,  to  be 
Kings  by  the  grace  of  God:  but  how  many  of  them  to 
this  end  onely  pretend  it,  that  they  may  raigne  teithout  <s 
controule ;  for  to  what  purpose  is  the  grace  of  Ood  men- 
tioned in  the  Title  of  Kings,  but  that  they  may  achnoiv 
ledge  no  Superiour?  In  the  meane  while  Ood,  whose 
name  they  use,  to  support  themselves,  they  toillingly  would 
tread  under  thir  feet.  It  is  therfore  a  meer  cheat  when  ~ 
they  boast  to  raigne  by  the  grace  of  God. 

Abdicant  se  terreni  principes,  etc.    Earthly  Princes 
depose  themselves  while  they  rise  against  God,   yea   they 
are  unworthy  to  be  numberd  among  men:   rather  it  be- 
hooves us   to  spitt  upon  thir   heads  then  to   obey  them.; 
On  Dan:  c.  6.  v.  22. 


Bucer  on  Matth.  e.  5. 
Si  princeps  superior,  etc.  If  a  Sovran  Prince  en- 
deavour by  armes  to  defend  transgressors,  to  subvert  those 
things  which  are  taught  in  the  word  of  God,  they  who  j. 
are  in  autority  under  him,  ought  first  to  disswade  him; 
if  they  prevails  not,  and  that  he  now  beares  himself  not 
ai  a  Prince,  but  as  an  enemie,  and  seelces  to  violate  priv- 


4*  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magiiirales 

ilega  and  right!  granted  to  inferior  Magielratu  or  com- 
monalitiee,  it  is  the  part  of  piout  Magittratet,  imploring 
fim  the  attittance  of  God,  rather  to  try  all  wage  and 
meam,  then  to  betray  the  flock  of  Chriet,  to  tueh  an 
tenemie  of  God;  for  they  alio  are  to  this  end  ordain'd, 
that  they  may  defend  the  people  of  God,  and  maintain 
(hole  things  which  are  good  and  juel.  For  to  hate  m- 
preme  potter  leit'ns  not  the  evil  committed  by  that  power, 
but  makes  it  the  leu  tolerable,  by  how  much  the  more 
•'generally  hurtful.  Then  certainly  ihe  less  tolerable, 
the  more  unpardonably  to  be  punish'd. 

Of  Peter  Martyr  we  have  spoke  before. 
Paraeue  in  Roin.  13. 
Quorum  est  constituere  magistratus,  etc.    They  uihoee 
Kpart  it  I'j  to  set  up  Magistrates,    may  restrain  them  also 
from  oulragioui  deeds,  or  pull  them  doum;  hut  all  Mag- 
istrates are  set  up  either  by  Parlament,  or  by  Electors, 
or  by  other  Magistrates ;  they  therfore  who  exalted  them, 
may  lawfully  degrade  and  punish  them. 

-  Of  the  Scotch  Divines  I  need  not  mention  others 
then  the  famousest  among  them,  Knox,  and  his  fellow 
Labourers  in  the  reformation  of  Scotland :  whose  large 
Treatises  on  this  subject,  defend  the  same  Opinion. 
To  cite  them  sufficiently,  were  to  insert  thir  whole 

•)  Books,  writfn  purposely  on  this  argument.  Knox 
Appeal;  and  to  the  Reader;  where  he  promises  in  a 
postscript  that  the  Book  which  he  intended  to  set 
forth,  call'd,  The  second  blast  of  the  Trumpet,  should 
maintain  more  at  large,  that  the  same  men  most  justly 

f  may  depose,  and  punish  him  whom  unadvisedly  they 
have  elected,  notwithstanding  birth,  succession,  or 
any  Oath  of  Allegeance.  Among  our  own  Divines, 
Cartwrighi  and  Fenner,  two  of  the  Lemedest,  may  in 
reason  satisfy  us  what  was  held  by  the  rest.    Fenner 


The  TtMurt  of  Kings  and  Magistrates  49 

in  hii  Book  of  Theologie  maintaining,  That  M«y  mho 
have  power,  IhcU  it  to  »oy,  a  ParlamaU,  nay  eilker  iy 
/aire  meanee  or  by  force  depote  a  Tyrant,  whom  he 
defines  to  be  him,  that  wilfully  breakei  all,  or  the 
principal  conditions  made  between  him  and  the  Com-  i 
mon-wealth.  Fen.  Sac.  Tkeolog.  c.  18.  and  CaHu.igkt 
in  a  prefix'd  Epistle  testifies  his  approbation  of  the 
whole  Book. 

Gilby  de  Obedientia.  p.  85.  and  105. 
Kingi  hate  thir  autoritie  of  the  people,  leho  may  up  on  •» 
occasion  re-atsume  it  to  themselves. 

Englands  Complaint  against  the  Canons. 
The  people  may  kill  wicked  Princes  as  mongers  and 
cruel  beasts. 

Christopher  Goodman  of  Obedience.  „ 

When  Kings  or  Pulers  become  blasphemers  of  God, 
oppressers  and  murderers  of  thir  subjects,  they  ought 
no  more  to  be  accounted  Kings  or  lawfull  Magistrates, 
but  as  privat  men  to  be  examind,  accus'd,  condemn'd 
and  punisht  by  the  Law  of  God,  and  being  convicted  „ 
and  punisht  by  that  Law,  it  is  not  mans  but  Gods 
doing,  c.  10.  p.  139. 

By  the  civil  laws  a  foole  or  Idiot  bom,  and  so 
prov'd,  shall  loose  the  lands  and  inheritance  whereto 
he  is  bom,  because  he  is  not  able  to  use  them  aright.  „ 
And  especially  ought  in  no  case  be  sufferd  to  have 
the  goverment  of  a  whole  Nation ;  But  there  is  no 
such  evil  can  come  to  the  Common-wealth  by  fooles 
and  idiots  as  doth  by  the  rage  and  fury  r  f  ungodly 
Rulers ;  Such  therfore  being  without  God  ought  to  ,, 
have  no  autority  over  Gods  people,  who  by  his  Word 
requireth  the  contrary,    c.  II.  p.  143,  144. 

No  person  is  exempt  by  any  Law  of  God  from  this 


50  Tht  Ttnun  tf  Kings  and  Mapiiralts 

punishment  be  he  King,  Queene,  or  Emporor,  he  n,u.t 
dy  the  death,  fo.  God  hath  not  placd  them  above 
others,  to  transgress  his  laws  as  they  list,  but  to  be 
subject  to  them  as  well  a.  others,  and  if  they  be  sub- 
.  ject  to  h..  laws,  then  to  the  punishment  also,  so  much 
the  more  as  thir  example  is  more  dangerous,  c  18 
p.  184. 

When   Magistrates  cease    to    doe    thir    Duty     the 

people  are  as  it  were  without  Magistrates,  yea  worse, 

..and  then  God  giveth   the  sword    into    the    peoples 

hand^and  he  himself  is  become  immediatly  thir  head. 

If  Princes  doe  right  and   keep  promise  with  you, 
then  doe  you  owe  to  them  all  humble  obedience  ■  if 
■.  not   yee  are  dischargd,  and  your  study  ought  '     be 
in  this  case  how  ye  may  depose  and  punish  according 
to  the  Law,  such  Rebels  against  God  and  oppressor, 
of  thir  Country,    p.  l9o. 
This  Goodman  was  a  Minister  of  the  EnglUh  Church 
»  at  G«»«a,  as  Dudley  Femer  was  at  MiddUburrough,  or 
some  other  place  in  that  country.    These  were  the 
Pastors  of  those  Saints   and  Confessors  who  flying 
from  the  bloudy  persecution  of  Queen  Mary,  gather'! 
up  at  length  thir  scatterd  members  into  many  Con- 
-. negations;    wherDf  som    in   upper,    some   in   lower 
e«n»<.«y    part  of  them  settld  at  Geneva,  where  this 
Author  havmg  preachd  on  this  subject,  to  the  great 
hfcing  of  certam  lemed  and  godly  men  who  heard 
him,  was  by  them  sundry  times  and  with  much  instance 
a-requird    to    ^-rite  more   fully  on    that  poi    .     Who 
therupon  took  it  in   hand,   and   conferring  with  the 
best    emed  in  thor-  parts  (among  whom  Calvin  was 
then  hvmg  ,n  the  .ame  City)  with  their  special  appro- 
bation he  publisht  this  treatise,  aiming  principally"  as 
..«  testify  d  by   Whuangham  in  the  Preface,   that  his 


nt  Tnurt  of  Kings  an  J  Magistralei  5 1 

brethren  of  England  the  ProtesUntg,  might  be  per- 
•waded  in  the  truth  of  that  Doctrine  concerning  obe- 
dience to  Magistrates.     Vnimngham  in  Pre/at. 

These  were  the  true  Protestant  Divines  of  England 
our  father,  in  the  faith  we  hold;  this  was  their  sense,  , 
who  for  so   many  yeares  labouring  under  Prelacy 
trough  all  stormes  and  persecutions  kept  Religion 
from  extmguishing  and  deliverd   it   pure   to   us,   till 
there  arose  a  covetous  and  ambitious  generation  of 
Divmes  (for  Divines  they  call  thiinselves)  who  feining  .. 
on  a  sudden  to  be  new  converts  and  Proselytes  from 
Episcopacy,  under  which  they  had  long  temporizd 
opnd    thu    mouthes    at    length,    in    shew    against 
Plurahties  and  Prelacy,   but  with   intent  to  swallow 
them   down   both,  gorging   themselves  like  Harpy's., 
on   those  simonious  places   and  prefermenU  of  thir 
outed  predecessors,    as  the    quarry   for  which  they 
hunted,   not  to  pluralitie  onely  but  to  multiplicitie  • 
for   possessing    which    they   had    accusd    them    thir 
Brethren,  and  aspiring  under  another  title  to  the  same  > 
authontie   rnd   usurpation  over   the    consciences  of 
all  men. 

Of  this  faction  divers  reverend  and  lemed  Divines 
as  they  arc  stil'd  in  the  Phylactery  of  thir  own  Title 
page,  pleading  the  lawfulness  of  defensive  Armes  .5 
^inst  this  king,  in  a  Treatise  calld  Smplure  and 
Staim,  seem  in  words  to  disclaime  utterly  the  deposing 
of  a  king;  but  both  the  Scripture  and  the  reasons 
which  they  use,  draw  consequences  afier  them,  which 
without  their  bidding  conclude  it  lawfull.  For  if  by  j. 
Scripture,  and  by  that  especially  to  the  Soman.,  which 
they  most  msist  upon.  Kings,  doing  that  which  is  con- 
trary to  Saint  Pauh  definition  of  a  Magistrat,  may  be 
resisted,  they  may  altogether  with  as  much  force  of 
cu-cumstance  be  depos'd  or  punUhd.    And  if  by  reason  „ 


52  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 

the  unjust  autority   of  Kings  may  he  forfeted  m  part, 
and  hit  power  be  reaaaum'd  in  part,  either  by  the  Parla- 
ment  or  People,  for  the  cote  in  hatard  and  the  preeent 
neeetiitie,  as  they  affirm,  p.  84.  there  can  no  Scripture 
i  be  alleg'd,  no  imaginable  reason  giv'n,  that  necessity 
continuing,  as  it  may  alwayes,  and  they  in  all  prudence 
and  thir  duty  may  take  upon  them  to  foresee  it,  why 
in  such  a  case  they  may  not  finally  amerce  him  with 
the  loss  of  his  Kingdom,  of  whose  amendment  they 
■«  have  no  hope.    And  if  one  wicked  action  persisted 
in  against  Religion,  Laws  and  liberties  may  warrant 
us  to  thus  much  in  part,  why  may  not  forty  times 
as  many  tyrannies,  by  him  committed,  warrant  us  to 
proceed  on  restraining  him,  till  the  restraint  become 
■5  total.    For  the  ways  of  justice  »re  exactest  proportion ; 
if  for  one  trespass  of  a  king  it  require  so  much  rem- 
edie  or  satisfaction,  then  for  twenty  more  as  hain- 
ous   crimes,   it  requires   of  him   twentyfold;   and   so 
proportionably,  till  it  com  to  what  is  utmost  among 
~  men.    If  in  these  proceedings  against  thir  king  they 
may  not  finish  by  the   usual  cours   of  justice  what 
they  have  begun,  they  could  not  lawfully  begin  at 
all.    For  this  golden  rule  of  justice  and  moralitie,  as 
well  as  of  Arithmetic,  out  of  three  termes  which  they 
■5  admitt,  will  as  certainly  and  unavoydably  bring  out 
the    fourth,    as    any  Probleme  that  ever  Euclid,   or 
Apollonius  made  good  by  demonstration. 

And  if  the  Parlament,  being  undeposable  but  by 
themselves,   as  is   affirm'd,  p.  37,  88,    might   for  his 
f  whole  life,  if  they  saw  cause,  take  all  power,  author- 
ity, and  the  sword  out  of  his  hand,  which  in  ejfect 
is  to  unmagistrate  him,  why  might  they  not,  being 
then  themselves  the  sole  Magistrates  in  force,  proceed 
,  to  punish  him  who  being  lawfiiUy  depriv'd  of  all  things 
M  that  define  a  Magistrate,  can  be  now  no  Magistrate 


The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates  53 

to  be  degraded  lower,  but  an  offender  to  be  punisht. 
Lastly,  whom   they   may  defie,   and  meet  in  battell, 
why  may  they  not  as  well  prosecute  by  justice  ?    For 
lawful!  warr  is  but  the   execution  of  justice  against 
them  who  refuse  Law.     Among  whom  if  it  be  lawful! 
(as  they  deny  not,  p.  19,  20)  to  slay  the  king  himself 
comming  in  front  at  his  own  peril,  wherfore  may  not 
justice  doe  that  intendedly,  which   the  chance  of  a 
defensive  warr  might  without  blame  have  don  casually, 
nay  purposely,  if  'there  it  finde  him  among  the  rest. .. 
They  aske  p.  19.     By  what  rule  of  Cmseience  or  God, 
a  State  is  bound  to  sacrifice  Religion,  Laws  and  liberties, 
rather  then   a  Prince    defending  such   as   subvert  them, 
should  com  in  hazard  of  his  life.     And  I  ask  by  what 
conscience,  or  divinity,  or  Law,  or  reason,  a  State  is  >s 
bound  to  leave  all  these  sacred  concernments  under 
a  perpetual  hazard  and  extremity  of  danger,  rather 
then  cutt  off  a  wicked  prince,  who  sitts  plotting  day 
and  night  to  subvert  them :  They  tell  us  that  the  Law 
of  nature  justiHes  any  man  to  defend  himself,  eev'n .. 
against  the  King  in  Person:  let  them  shew  us  then 
why  the    same  Law  may  not  justifie  much  more  a 
State  or  whole  people,  to  doe  justice  upon  him,  against 
whom  each  privat  man  may  lawfully  defend  himself; 
seeing  all  kind  of  justice  don,  is  a  defence  to  good  .s 
men,  as  well   as  a  punishment  to  bad;   and  justice 
don   upon  a  Tyrant  is   no   more  but  the  necessary 
self-defence  of  a  whole  Common  wealth.     To  Warr 
upon  a  king,  that  his  instruments  may  be   brought 
to    condigne    punishment,    and    therafter    to    punish  j» 
them    the    instruments,    and    not    to    spare    onely, 
but  to   defend   and   honour  him  the  Author,   is  the 
strangest  peece  of  justice  to  be  call'd  Christian  and 
the  strangest  peece  of  reason  to  be  call'd   human, 
that  by  men  of  reverence  and  learning,  as  thir  stile  is 


i 


54  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 

imports  them,  ever  yet  was  vented.    They  maintain 
in  the  third  and  fourth  Section,  that  a  Judge  or  in- 
ferior Magistrate,  is  anointed  of  God,  is  his  Minister, 
hath  the  Sword  in  his  hand,  is  to  be  obey'd  by  St. 
s  Peter»  rule,  as  well  as  the  Supreme,  and  without  dif- 
ference any  where  exprest :  and  yet  will  have  us  fight 
against  the  Supreme  till  he  remove  and  punish  the 
inferior  Magistrate  (for  such  were  greatest  Delinquents) 
when  as  by  Scripture  and  by  reason,  there  can  no 
■•more  autority  be  shown  to  resist  the  one  then  the 
other ;  and  altogether  as  much,  to  punish  or  depose 
the  Supreme  himself,  as  to  make  Warr  upon  him,  till 
he  punish  or  deUver  up  his  inferior  Magistrates,  whom 
in  the  same  terms  we  are  copimanded  to  obey,  and 
.!  not  to  resist.     Thus  while  they,  in  a  cautious  line 
or  two  here  and  there  stuft  in,  are  onely  verbal  against 
the   pulling   down   or  punishing  of  Tyrants,  all  the 
Scripture  and  the  reason  which  they  bring,  is  in  every 
leafe  direct   and  rational   to  inferr   it  altogether  as 
~  lawful,  as  to  resist  them.   And  yet  in  all  thir  Sermons, 
as  hath  by  others  bin  well  noted,   they  went  much 
further.    For  Divines,  if  ye  observe  them,  have  thir 
postures  and  thir  motions  no  less  expertly,  and  with 
no   less   variety  then  they  that  practice  feats  in  the 
.5  Artillery-ground.     Sometimes  they  seem  furiously  to 
march  on,  and  presently  march  counter;  by  and  by 
they  stand,  and  then  retreat ;  or  if  need  be  can  face 
about,  or  wheele  in  a  whole  body,  with  that  cunning 
and  dexterity  as  is  almost  unperceavable ;  to  winde 
I.  themselves  by  shifting  ground  into  places  of  more 
advantage.    And  Providence  onely  must  be  the  drumm. 
Providence   the  word   of  command,   that  calls  them 
from  above,  but  always  to  som  larger  Benefice,  or 
acts  them  into  such  or  such  figures,  and  promotions, 
s  At  thir  turnes  and  doublings  no  men  readier ;  to  the 


The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 


55 


right,  or  to  the  left:  for  it  is  thir  tumes  which  they 
serve  cheifly;  heerin  onely  singular,  that  with  them 
there  is  no  certain  hand  right  or  left;  but  as  thir 
own  commodity  thinks  best  to  call  it.  But  if  there 
come  a  truth  to  be  defended,  which  to  them,  and  s 
thir  interest  of  this  world  seemes  not  so  profitable, 
strait  these  nimble  motionists  can  finde  no  eev'n  leggs 
to  stand  upon :  and  are  no  more  of  use  to  reformation 
throughly  performd,  and  not  superficially,  or  to  the 
advancement  of  Truth  (which  among  mortal  men  is  .« 
alwaies  in  her  progress)  then  if  on  a  sudden  they 
were  strook  maime  and  crippl'd.  Which  the  better 
to  conceale,  or  the  more  to  countnance  by  a  general 
conformity  to  thir  own  limping,  they  rfould  have 
Scripture,  they  would  have  reason  also  made  to  halt  is 
with  them  for  company ;  and  would  putt  us  off  with 
impotent  conclusions,  lame  and  shorter  then  the  pre- 
mises. In  this  posture  they  seem  to  stand  with  great 
zeale  and  confidence  on  the  wall  of  Sion ;  but  like 
Jebusites,  not  like  Israelites,  or  Levites :  blinde  also  as  to 
well  as  lame,  they  discern  not  Dai ..'  from  Adonibezec ; 
but  cry  him  up  for  the  Lords  anointed,  whose  thumbs 
and  great  toes  not  long  before  they  had  cut  off  upon 
thir  Pulpit  cushions.  Therfore  he  who  is  our  onely 
King,  the  root  of  David,  and  whose  Kingdom  is  eter-  n 
nal  righteousness,  with  all  those  that  Warr  under  him, 
whose  happiness  and  final  hopes  are  laid  up  in  that 
onely  just  and  rightful  kingdom  (which  we  pray  in- 
ces.santly  may  com  soon,  and  in  so  praying  with  hasty 
ruin  and  destruction  to  all  Tyrants)  eev'n  he  our  im-  30 
mortal  King,  and  all  that  love  him,  must  of  necessity 
have  in  abomination  these  blind  and  lame  Defenders 
of  Jerusalem ;  as  the  soule  of  David  hated  them,  and 
forbid  them  entrance  into  Gods  House,  and  his  own. 
But  as  to  those  before  them,  which  I  cited  first  (and  j> 


5*  The  Tenun  of  Kings  anti  Magistrates 

with  an  easie  search,  for  many  more  might  be  added) 
as  they  there  stand,  without  more  in  number,  being 
the   best  and  chief  of  Protestant  Divines,   we  may 
follow  them  for  faithful  Guides,  and  without  doubting 
!  may  receive  them,   as  Witnesses   abundant  of  what 
wee  heer  affirm  concerning  Tyrants.     And  indeed  I 
find  it  generally  the  cleere  and  positive  determination 
of  them  all,  (not  prelaticai.  or  of  this  late  faction  sub- 
prelatical)  who  have  writfn  on  this  argument;   that 
■•  to  doe  justice  on  a  lawless  King,  is  to  a  privat  man 
unlawful,  to  an  inferior  Magistrate  lawfull :  or    "  they 
were  divided  in  opinion,  yet  greater  then  these  here 
allegd,  or  of  more  autority  in  the  Church,  there  can 
be  none  produc'd.    If  any  one  shall  goe  about  by 
■s  bringing  other  testimonies  to   disable  these,    or  by 
bringing  these  against  themselves  in  other  cited  pas- 
sages of  thir  Books,  he  will  not  onely  faile  to  make 
good  that  fals  and  impudent  assertion  of  those  mutin- 
ous Mmisters,  that  the  deposing  and  punishing  of  a 
~  Kmg  or  Tyrant,  «  againU  the  comtani  Judgement  of  all 
Proteatant  Ditnnea,  it  being  quite  the  contrary,  but  will 
prove  rather,  what  perhaps  he  intended  not,  that  the 
judgement  of  Divines,  if  it  be  so  various  and  inconstant 
to  It  self,  is  not  considerable,  or  to  be  esteemd  at  all 
«Ere  which  be  yielded,  as  I  hope  it  never  will,  these 
Ignorant  a«sertors  in   thir  own  art  will  have  prov'd 
themselves  more  and  more,  not  to  be  Protestant  Di- 
vmes,  whose  constant  judgement  in  this  point  they 
have  so  audaciously  bely'd,  but  rather  to  be  a  pack 
..of  hungrie  Church-wolves,  who  in  the  steps  o( Simon 
Magm  thir  Father,  following  the  hot  sent  of  double 
Livings  and  Plurahties,  advousons,  donatives,  induc- 
tions and  augmentations,  though  uncall'd  to  the  Flock 
of  Chnst,  but  by  the  meer  suggestion  of  thir  Bellies, 
5  hke  those  priests  of  Bfl,  whose  pranks  Daniel  found 


The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates  57 

out:  have  got  possession,  or  rather  seis'd  upon  the 
Pulpit,  as  the  strong  hold  and  fortress  of  thir  sedition 
and  rebellion  against  the  civil  Magistrate.  Whose 
friendly  and  victorious  hand  having  rescu'd  them  from 
the  Bishops,  thir  insulting  Lords,  fed  them  plenteously, 
both  in  public  and  in  privat,  rais'd  them  to  be  high 
and  rich  of  poore  and  base ;  onely  suffer'd  not  thir 
covetousness  and  fierce  ambition,  which  as  the  pitt 
that  sent  out  thir  fellow  locusts,  hath  bin  ever  bottom- 
less and  boundless,  to  interpose  in  all  things,  and  ■■ 
over  all  persons,  thir  impetuous  ignorance  and  im- 
portunity. 


[THE  E.ND] 


NOTES. 

8. 1.  If  men,  etc.  In  this  opening  paragraph  Milton  has 
in  mind  all  opponents  of  the  Cromwellian  party,  and  especi- 
ally the  Scotch  and  English  Presbyterians. 

3.  6.  But  being  alavei  Tithin  doorea.  Living  under  a 
domestic  tyranny.  Alfred  Stem  (Miltm  und  seint  Zat  1.  438) 
says  that  these  words  will  recall  to  every  reader  the  conflict 
between  Milton  and  the  Presbyterians  over  his  theory  of 
divorce. 

8.9.  None  can  love  freedom  heortilie,  but  good  men. 
Milton  based  both  political  and  artistic  excellence  on  char- 
acter.   Cf.  Apol.  Snuct.  (Bohn  8. 118). 

3.  13.    Tyrants  are  not  oft  offended,  etc.    Cf.  AristoUe, 
Politics,  h.n.\i:  'Tyrants  are  always  fond  of  bad  men,  be- 
cause they   love  to  be  flattered,  but  no  man  who  has  the 
spirit  of  a  free  man  in  him  will  demean  himself  by  flatteiy.' 
8. 15.    Them  they  feore  in  earnest.    Milton  probably  owes 
this  thought  to  George  Buchanan.     Cf.  De  Jure  Rtgni  afmd 
Scotos.    Trans.  R.  Macfarlan,  p.  199 :    •  But  why  should   we 
look  for  a  surer  witness  of  what  tyrants  deserve  than  their 
own  conscience?    Hence  springs  their  perpetual  fear  of  all, 
and  particularly  of  good  men.'    See  also  Raleigh,  Tht  Cabitut- 
Coumil  (Works,  ed.  Birch  1.96):    They    [tyrants]  are   abo 
Protectors  of  impious  Persons,  and  stand  in  daily  doubt  of 
noble  and  virtuous  Men. 
3. 24.     Others.     Cromwell  and  his  supporters. 
8.  26.    The  curse.    See  Jer.  48. 1. 
4. 2.    These  men.    The  Presbyterians. 
4.4.    Juggl'd  and  pslter-d  with  the  World.    A  pictiiresque 
phrase   insinuating   that   the  Presbyterians,   especially   their 
ministers,  had  played  the  part  of  patriots  because  it  was  to 
their  material  advantage  to  do  so.    Cf  Shak.  Macbeth  5. 8. 20 : 
Those  juggling  fiends 
That  palter  with  us  in  a  double  sense. 
1 


6o 


The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 


4.  4.  Bandied.  The  ori^n  of  this  word  is  obscure,  but 
it  is  probably  derived  from  the  game  of  temiis,  or  bandy, 
meaning  to  throw  or  strike  a  ball  from  side  to  side.  The 
allusion  here  seems  to  be  to  the  uncertainty  of  the  Scots  in 
their  relation  to  Charles  I.  First  they  were  against  him, 
then  for  him,  then  they  sold  him  to  the  English  Parliament 
and  finally  they  cried  up  loyalty  and  obedience.  Cf.  Observ. 
Art.  Peace  (Bohn.  2.  196) :  Conspiring  and  bandying  against 
the  common  good.' 

4.  8.  And  their  pamphlets.  A  flood  of  pamphlets  greeted 
Charles'  attempts  to  force  ritualism  upon  Scotland.  On  March 
30,  1640,  the  king  issued  a  proclamaticn  against  'libellous 
and  seditious  Pamphlets  and  Discourses  from  Scotland.'  The 
authors  are  called  '  factious  spirits,  and  such  as  do  endeavour 
to  cast  most  unjust  and  false  aspersions  and  scandals  upon 
His  Majesty  and  His  Government,  and  upon  his  proceedings 
with  his  subjects  in  Scotland,  and  to  distemperate  and  alienate 
from  His  Majesty  the  hearts  of  his  well-arfected  subjects,  and 
such  as  are  in  no  way  inclu.ed  to  such  seditious  and  dis- 
loyal courses.'  For  full  text  of  this  proclamation  see  John 
Rushworth,  Hist.  Coltections  8. 1094.  During  the  course  of 
the  war  sermons  continued  to  be  preached  aga-nst  Charles 
and  thousands  of  pamphlets  by  Presbyterian  and  independent 
writers  poured  from  the  press. 

4.  S.  To  the  ingaging  of.  By  these  action?  and  utterances 
the  Presbyterians  had  pledged  themselves  to  an  anti-royalist 
policy. 

4.  14.  To  the  entire  advantagea  of  thir  owne  Faction. 
Both  the  Scotch  and  English  Presbyterians  were  very  jealous 
of  the  growing  power  of  the  Independents. 

4.  16.  Counted  them  accessory.  The  King  loved  neither 
the  Presbyterians  nor  the  Independents.  For  three  years 
(1646-1649)  he  tried  to  play  off  one  party  against  the  other. 
Before  his  flight  from  Oxford  to  the  Scottish  camp  at  New- 
castle he  expressed  the  hope  that  he  should  be  able  so  to 
drav/  the  Presbyterians  or  the  Independents  to  side  with  him 
for  extirpating  one  the  other,  that  he  should  really  be  king 
again.    (See  his  letter  to  Lord  Digby,  dated  March  26,  1646. 


Notes 


6i 


Quoted  by  Mmm„,  Uf,  0/  Milton  8.  497).  Charle.  hated  the 
Covenant,  rteadfestly  refused  to  .ign  it,  and  looked  upon  the 
ftrabyteriana  aa  rebel,  who  had  broken  statute,  and  law. 
pledging  them  to  obedience  -o  their  king.  Cf.  a  simUar 
Statement  in  First  D,f.  (Bohn  1. 192). 

4.  17.  Tho«  Stotute.  and  Uw..  At  this  time  the  Pre,- 
byteran  preachers  and  writers  were  constantly  accusine  the 
Independents  of  breaking  •  the  Oaths  of  Allegiance  and  Supre- 
macy,  the  Common  Law,  Stat.  26.  Edw.  S.  and  all  other 
Acta  concerning  Treason.'  (See  Walker, //«/.  ;  ■■ukpemkmy. 

,K*'if^\'"'  "^'  •"■'  "*  "''"•     ™«™  «"»«»  that 

fte  Presbyterians  were  active  in  the  good  cause  for  a  time. 

He  asmbes  their  defection  to  (1)  sloth,  (2)  inconstancy,  (8) 

cowardice,  (4)  falsehood,  or  (5)  wickedness. 

4.28.  toconrtanoie.  and  weaknew  of  ipirit  Clarendon 
•upports  MUton  m  his  indictment  of  the  Scots  and  Pres- 
bytenan  party  for  fickleness  and  faUure  to  carry  out  their 
^  ?„'^«L^"'''    ^'^^"•'^"/""R'Mlion.  Ed.Machray, 

OK.    10.  looff. 

4.  31.  Alteration  of  Lawea,  ete.  All  these  steps  ulti- 
mately  proved  necessary  to  the  e..tablishment  of  the  Puritan 
Commonwealth. 

5.  2.  The  throng  and  noiaes  of  vulgar  and  irrational 
men.  Milton  entertained  litde  respect  for  the  fickle  and 
sweaty  populace.  See  his  celebrated  passage  m  P.  R  S 
49-89,  and  his  sonnet  to  Oliver  Cromwell. 

S.4.  Cuatomea.  Milton  had  no  .sympathy  with  irrational 
/Tk^o  „f  ''''  '"'"''  °"  r-ejudices  and  customs  in  Areop. 
(Bohn  2.  98):  'Our  eyes,  bleared  and  dimmed  with  prejudice 
ana  custom.' 

6- 6.  Their  gibrish  Lawea.  Alluding  to  the  jargon  in 
which  statutes  were  written.  A  variant  form  of  gibber  is 
jabber,  to  talk  nonsense.  Gibberish  is  therefore  uninteUieible 
speech,  marticulate  chatter. 

Under  the  heading  Leges  in  his  Commonplace  Book  Milton 
says,  'Alfred  tum'd  the  old  laws  into  English.  I  would  he 
1  2 


62 


The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 


liv'd  now  to  rid  us  of  this  Norman  g^bbriih.'  (See  Publi- 
cation of  Camden  bocicty  for  1876,  p.  22). 

In  16fi0  Parliament  ordered  that  all  the  books  of  the  laws 
be  put  into  English;  and  that  all  writs,  processes,  indict- 
ments, records,  and  all  rules  and  proceedings  in  courts  of 
justice  be  in  the  English  tongue  only,  and  not  in  Latin  or 
French,  or  any  other  language  but  English.  It  is  possible 
that  Milton's  protest  and  personal  influence  may  have  con- 
tributed to  this  result. 

6. 12.  They  plead  for  him,  pity  him,  extoll  him,  etc. 
London  and  Lancashire  ministers  sent  in  protests  against  the 
policy  of  Parliament  towards  the  king.  Letters  were  ad- 
dressed to  Lord  Fairfax  and  the  army  by  Dr.  Henry  Hammond 
and  Dr.  Gauden.  The  indefatigable  William  Prynne,  both 
in  Parliament  and  out,  was  busy  with  tongue  and  pen  in 
pleading  the  king's  cause.  As  a  sample  of  these  protests 
see  the  Declaration  and  Protestction  of  IVH/:  Pryn,  and  Clem : 
Walker,  issued  Jan.  19,  1649,  against  the  proposal  of  the 
House  of  Commons  to  bring  the  king  to  capital  punishment. 
Prynne  and  Walker  declare  that  such  a  course  is  'highly 
impious  against  the  Law  of  God,  Nations,  and  the  Protestant 
Profession,  Traitors  against  the  State,  of  Treason,  25  Edw.  3., 
and  against  all  Laws  and  our  Statutes,  perjurious  and  per- 
fidious, against  all  Oaths  of  Allegiance,  Supremacy,  Nationall 
Covenant,  and  Protestation ;  all  the  Parliaments  Declarations 
and  Remonstrances  held  forth  to  the  world;  their  Treaties 
and  promises  made  to  the  Scots  when  they  delivered  the 
King's  Person  into  oiu*  hands ;  against  our  promises  made  to 
the  Hollanders,  and  other  Nations,  and  against  all  the  Pro- 
fessions, Declarations,  Remonstrances,  and  Proposals  made 
by  this  Army ;  when  they  made  their  Addresses  to  the  King 
at  New-Market,  Hampton  Court,  and  other  places.'  (Walker, 
Hist,  of  Independency,  pt.  2,  p.  83). 

5.  13.  Protest  againflt  those,  etc.  The  Presbyterian  min- 
sters of  London  in  their  vindication  set  forth :  *  For  when 
we  did  first  engage  with  the  Parliament,  (which  we  did  not 
till  called  thereunto)  we  did  it  with  loyal  hearts  and  af- 
fection towards  the  King,  and  his  posterity.    Not  intending 


tfo/tl 


63 


the  leut  hurt  to  hii  Penon,  but  to  rtop  hii  party  from  doing 
(urther  hurt  to  the  Kingdome;  not  to  bring  hii  Majnty  to 
jurtice  (u  lome  now  •peak)  but  to  put  him  into  a  better 
capacity  to  doe  justice.'  (A  VimUcaHtm  of  the  LotiJm  Ministers 
from  lit  unjust  aspersions  upon  their  former  actings  for  tin 
Parliament,  p.  8). 
3.  28.    Of  indnatry.    On  purpose,  intentionally. 

5.  26.  They  themaelTea  have  cited  him.  Milton  refers 
to  a  treatise,  Truths  Manifest,  said  by  him  to  have  been 
written  by  a  Scotchman,  '  in  which  it  is  affirmed  that  there 
hath  been  more  Christian  blood  shed  by  the  commission, 
approbation,  and  connivance  of  King  Charles  and  his  father, 
James,  in  the  latter  end  of  their  reign,  than  in  the  ten  Roman 
persecutions.'  See  Eikon  (Bohn  1.  883).  For  a  comparison 
of  Charles  with  Nero  see  ibid. 

«.  28.  Hero,  Claudius  (A.  D.  64-88).  MUton  relates  that 
the  Senate  required  that  Nero  should  be  stripped  naked, 
and  hung  by  the  neck  upon  a  forked  stake,  and  whipped  to 
death.  Cf.  First  Def.  (Bohn  I.  133):  'Consider  now,  how 
much  more  mildly  and  moderately  the  English  dealt  with 
their  tyrant,  though  many  are  of  opinion,  that  he  caused  the 
spilling  of  more  blood  thjn  even  Niro  himself  did.' 

6.  80.    Their  marciea.    See  Prov.  12. 10. 

6.  88.  Agag.  Agag  was  a  king  of  the  Amalekites,  con- 
quered by  Saul  and,  contrary  to  the  divine  command,  saved 
alive,  but  put  to  death  by  Samuel.  (1  Sara.  15).  Milton  is 
here  comparing  the  compassion  of  the  Presbyterian  party 
with  that  of  Saul  who  v,as  disobedic.it  to  God's  command. 

6. 33.  VUUiying.  Making  vile,  of  no  account.  Cf.  P.  £.  1 1. 516. 

6.  34.  Many  Jonathana,  that  have  aar'd  Israel.  A  com- 
parison of  the  Puritan  generab  with  Jonathan,  who  led  a  for- 
lorn hope  against  a  great  army  of  .''hilistines,  and  freed  his 
country  from  invasion.  The  allusion  is  to  one  of  the  most 
stirring  war  stories  of  the  Old  Testament  (1  Sam.  13). 

6.  1.  Riceneaae.  Subtlety,  a  tendency  to  be  over  partic- 
ular. Unnecessariest.  An  interesting  use  of  an  obsolete 
superUtive.  Cf.  famnusest  (below  69.  3),  Apol.  Smec.  (Bohn 
3.  128),  elegantest  (Mil.  3. 140). 


64 


Tht  TtHurt  of  Kings  and  Mapiiralti 


6.  1.  CUoMoftlwirCoTiuntwTMtod.  With  the  mention 
of  the  Covenant  Milton  touchex  upon  one  of  the  leading 
topics  of  this  pamphlet  For  a  <uU  diiciusion  of  the  Covenant, 
and  what  was  to  Milton  the  unneceisariest  and  riddling 
clause,  see  Introd. 

6.  4.  Bnt  act  MmpUBg.  etc.  It  is  difficult  to  arrive  at 
the  meaning  of  this  ambiguous  statement  In  return  for 
compliments  from  the  king,  for  his  good  opinion  of  their 
loyalty,  the  Scots  would  not  scruple  to  give  over  to  his 
implacable  revenge,  if  he  should  succeed  in  regaining  the 
throne,  the  heads  of  many  thousand  Christians  more,  meaning 
the  Republicans  who  were  still  opposing  him.  To  save  one 
man,  the  Presbyterians  would  sacrifice  the  lives  of  thousands. 
This  seems  to  be  the  leading  thought  in  this  obscure  sen- 
tence. 

6.  7.  Another  lort  there  ii.  Milton  now  turns  his  atten- 
tion to  the  weak-kneed  conservatives  of  his  own  party.  He 
is  glancing  at  Gen.  Fairfax,  Aid.  Pennington  and  others, 
who  grew  timid  at  the  very  last  The  trial  of  the  king  was 
carried  forward  by  such  Indec-n''  -t  army  leaders  as  Crom- 
well, Harrison  and  Ireton,  but  the  great  bulk  of  thj  party 
shuddered  at  the  task  of  bringing  Charles  to  justice.  On 
Dec.  23,  1648,  the  House  passed  a  resolution  appointing  a 
committee  to  consider  how  to  proceed  in  a  way  of  justice 
against  the  king  and  other  capital  offenders.  'Though  the 
Resolution  passed  without  a  division,  the  reluctance  of  some 
who  were  present  had  appeared  in  the  course  of  the  debate. 
They  argued  \at  there  was  no  precedent  in  History  for 
the  judicial  trial  of  a  King,  and  that  if  the  Army  were  de- 
termined that  Charles  should  be  punished  capitally,  the 
business  should  be  left  to  the  Army  itself  as  an  exceptional 
and  irregular  power '  (Masson,  Ufe  of  MilUm  3.  699).  Of 
the  135  Judicial  Commissioners  appointed  by  the  House  to 
try  the  King  not  half  the  number  attended  any  of  the 
meetings.  Fairfax  was  present  at  the  first  sitting  of  the 
Commission  but  never  went  back.  Many  more  withdrew 
before  the  trial  was  concluded.  Milton  is  writing  to  encourage 
these  half-hearted  Independents,  who  swerve  and  shiver,  to 


Nous 


65 


execute  jiutice,  even  upon  their  King,  '  with  juit  and  foithfiil 
expedition.' 

6.  18,  Pmidnt*.  Precedents.  Buchanan  alio  expreoei 
hia  impatience  with  thoae  who  call  for  precedents.  He 
denies  that  whatever  is  not  ordained  by  some  law,  or  evi- 
denced by  some  illustrious  record,  should  be  instantly 
reckoned  wicked  and  nefarious  (George  Buchanan,  Dejun 
Rtgni  ttpHd  Scolos,  p.  176). 

6.  19.  To  lUrtk  firoiB.  An  obsolete  construction.  The 
modem  passive  form  would  be  no/  to  ie  slartUd  from. 

6.  22.  In  th*  gloriooa  hkj,  etc.  For  a  more  extended 
eulogy  of  the  work  -)f  the  Long  Parliament  see  Apol.  Stiuc. 
(Bchn  8. 149).  Milton's  praise  of  the  campaigns  of  Cromwell 
was  amplified  afterwards  in  his  First  Dtf.  (Bohn  1.  143); 
see  also  EikoH  (Bohn  8.  498  ff.),  and  Sn.  Dtf.  rBohn 
6.  817). 

6.  28.  Any  new  Apoatata  Soar-crowaa.  A  caustir  refer- 
ence to  one  of  the  most  interesting  figures  of  the  at;^  he 
irrepressible  pamphleteer,  William  Prynne  (1600-1669). 
Milton  calls  him  a  scarecrow,  for  his  ears  had  been  muti- 
lated twice  because  he  had  persisted  in  sending  out  pamphlets 
attacking  prelacy.  He  •  as  «l»o  branded  on  both  cheeks 
with  the  letter  S  for  schismatic.  In  later  years,  when  he 
was  a  popular  hero  and  sat  in  the  House  of  Commons,  he 
wore  a  cap  to  cover  his  disfigurement.  Milton  was  not  the 
first  writer  to  charge  Prynne  with  being  an  apostate  He 
was  so  called  in  a  pamphlet  entitled  Prynne  against  Prynne, 
published  as  a  reply  to  Prynne's  Brief  Memento.  Prynne 
replied  to  this  charge  on  the  very  day  of  its  publication 
Jan.  29,  1648,  in  a  broadside :  Prynne  the  Member,  reconciled 
to  Prynne,  the  Barrister.  Hitherto  the  most  outspoken  critic 
of  prelacy  and  royalty,  Prynne  had  become  the  most  active 
pamphleteer  of  the  Presbyterian  party.  He  declared  that 
the  General,  and  General  Council  of  Officers  of  the  Army, 
were  'the  greatest  Apostates  and  Renegadoes  from  our 
publick  trust  and  duties '  (See  his  Speech  made  in  the  H:  ise 
of  Commons,  Dec.  4, 1648,  p.  6.  London,  1649).  In  fh.  1  ,ie 
publication  we  have  his  apology  for  his  later  position.    He 


I'l 


66 


The  Tenure  of  '''ings  and  Magistrates 


recites  the  story  of  his  sufferings  and  imprisonments  and 
asserts  that  he  has  never  received  any  reward  from  anyone 
for  his  services  to  the  public,  that  he  has  never  published 
any  books  to  scandalise  or  defame  the  king,  or  to  alienate  the 
people's  affections  from  him.  Yet  he  says,  'I  am  clear  of 
opinion  that  Kings  are  accountable  for  their  Actions  to  their 
Parliaments  and  whole  kingdoms.'  In  case  of  absolute 
necessity  he  would  even  allow  the  deposition  of  a  tyrant, 
'  if  there  be  no  speciall  oaths  nor  obligations  to  the  contrary 
(which  is  our  present  case).'  Ibid.  p.  29.  He  is  here  pleading 
for  the  observance  of  'the  unnecessariest  clause  of  the 
Covenant,'  the  great  argument  of  the  Presbyterians,  which 
Milton  despises  as  a  quibble. 

6.  30.  Their  barking  monitories  and  memento's.  The 
reference  is  to  A  Briefe  MemetM  to  the  Present  Unparlia- 
mentary Junto,  by  William  Prynne  (London,  1649). 

For  another  attack  of  Milton  upon  Prynne,  see  To  Rem. 
Hire  (Bohn  3. 17). 

6.  31.  The  spleens  of  a  flnistrated  Faction.  This  biting 
phrase  hits  off  the  situation  exactly.  The  Presbyterian 
pamphlets  of  Prynne,  Walker,  and  the  London  divines  are 
doll  of  spleen.  It  was  a  bitter  disappointment  to  the  party, 
which  had  hoped  to  see  the  Presbyterian  system  of  intolerant 
church  government  established  in  England,  to  be  out- 
manoeuvred and  crushed  by  the  Independents  in  tht  House 
with  the  army  at  their  back. 

7.  1.  Those  Statutes  and  Scriptnres  . . .  they  wrest,  etc. 
This  was  a  common  practice  among  the  controversialists  of 
Milton's  day.  All  arguments  were  supported  by  appeals  to 
law  or  to  the  Bible.  But  the  freedom  of  private  inter- 
pretation, established  by  the  Protestant  Reformation,  gave 
rise  to  all  kinds  of  differences  over  ambiguous  texts.  To 
*  wrest '  a  text  against  an  opponent  was  a  proof  of  literary 
skill.  Milton  himself  was  guilty  of  this  art ;  he  was  an  adept 
in  citing  Scripture  for  his  purpose,  as  may  be  seen  in  this 
very  pamphlet    See  Introd. 

In  Ref.  in  Eng.  (Bohn  2.  404)  he  uses  an  analogous  phrase: 
Wrenching  and  spraimng  the  te-.l. 


Notes  by 

■  a.  I'heu- rn  ida  and  Asaociate..  The  army  and  the 
In  is;)e:iJsnts.  Fiji  the  moment  MUton  uses  a  milder  tone. 
H.  r.minds  :i!l  t  itics  of  the  parliament  that  the  tyrant  is 
aftci  a;:  t'.-.-  oramon  foe.  If  the  king  is  restored  to  power, 
he  will  revenge  himself  on  both  Presbyterians  and  In- 
dependants.  Cf.  2.  19,  4.  17.  He  sounds  this  warning  note 
repeatedly  in  this  pamphlet,  also  in  First  Def.  (Bohn  3. 194) : 
'  Wo  be  to  you  in  the  first  place,  if  Charles'  posterity  recover 
the  crown  of  England;  assure  yourselves,  you  are  like  to  be 
put  in  the  black  list.' 

7.  7.  The  unmaaciiliiie  Bhetorick  of  any  puling  Priest 
or  Chaplain.  The  reference  is  to  letters  on  the  king's  beh-lf 
addressed  to  General  Fairfax  by  Dr.  Henry  Hammond  and 
Dr.  John  Gauden. 

Henry  Hammond,  D.  D.  (1605-1660).     Hammond  was  not 
only  a  great  scholar  and  preacher,  but  a  devoted  royalist. 
He    acted    for   some   years   as    chaplain   to  Charles,    and 
accompanied  him  from  place  to  place  during  his  imprison- 
m'-nt  by  parliament.    He  was  much  beloved  by  the  king, 
who  said  he  was  the  most  natural  orator  he  ever  heard' 
He  was  a  noted  theologian  and  exegete.    His  most  famous 
works  were  his  Practical  CcmcUsm  and  his  Paraphrase  and 
Atmotations  on  the  New  Testameta.    Owing  to  the  fact  that 
he  was  a  personal  friend  of  Fairfax,  and  of  other  officers  of 
the   army,   he  made  a   last   effort  to  save  his  master   by 
addressing  to  them  a  letter  on  behalf  of  Charies.    Hammond 
was  a  man  of  great  piety,  learning,  and  benevolence,  and 
was  altogether  undeserving  of  Milton's  sneer.    Hammond's 
letter  was  written  Jan.  15,  1648,  and  its  published  title  is  as 
foUows:  To  the  Right  Homu.abk,  the  Lord  Fairfax   and 
Us   Councetl  of  IVarre,    the    Humble    Addresse    of  Henry 
Hammond  (London,   1649).     The  writer  advises  the  army 
officers  to  test  all  motives  by  the  true  Spirit  of  God  and 
the  Scriptures,  not  by  lying  spirits;  not  to  be  too  sure  that 
God  has  borne  testimony  to  the  justice  of  their  cause  by 
the  many  victories  He  has  given  to  them,  for  the  Mahom- 
medans  were  successful  in  war,  and  God  often  permits  His 
people  to  suffer  defeat.    By  shedding  the  king's  blood  they 


68 


The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 


will  only  fill  up  the  measure  of  the  nation's  iniquities  and 
provoke  the  wrath  of  God.  He  concludes  by  -i.tying  that 
he  will  intercede  daily  at  the  throne  of  grace  that  God 
will  mollify  their  hearts  towards  the  king,  or  else  interpose 
His  hand  to  rescue  his  royal  persou  out  of  their  power. 

Milton  entertained  a  very  poor  opinion  of  chaplains.  Cf. 
To  Rem.  Hire  (Bohn  3.  35)  and  Rem.  Def,  (Bohn  3.  47).  For 
his  animus  against  chaplains  in  general,  and  a  special  diatribe 
against  Dr.  Hammond  as  king's  chaplain,  see  Eikon  (Bohn 
1.458fF.). 

John  Gauden,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  Worcester  (1605-1662),  at 
first  sympathized  with  the  parliamentary  cause,  but  began 
to  have  misgivings  as  the  struggle  progressed.  Although  he 
subscribed  to  the  Covenant,  he  published  in  1643,  Certain 
Scruples  and  Doubts  of  Conscience  about  taking  the  Solemn 
League  and  Covenant.  As  time  passed  he  grew  still  more 
reactionary,  and  finally  at  the  Restoration  was  made  chaplain 
to  the  king  and  appointed  to  the  bishopric  of  Exeter,  and 
later  to  that  of  Worcester.  The  celebrated  book,  which  ap- 
peared tlie  day  alter  Charles'  execution,  entitled  Eix^v 
fiaaiXticii;  the  Pourtraiture  of  His  Sacred  Majestie  in  His 
Solitudes  and  Sufferings,  has  been  attributed  to  Dr.  Gauden 
on  very  strong  grounds.  This  book,  which  went  through 
forty-seven  editions,  called  forth  a  reply  from  Milton,  his 
Eikon.  (1649). 

The  letter  here  criticised  by  Milton  bore  the  following 
title :  The  Religious  and  Loyal  Protestation  of  John  Gauden, 
Dr.  in  Divinity  against  the  Declared  Purposes  and  Proceedings 
of  the  Army  and  others;  about  the  trying  and  destroying 
our  Sovereign  Lord  the  King  (London,  Jan.  5,  1648).  In 
this  letter  Gauden  warns  Fairfax  and  the  army  officers 
against  the  perils  of  success  and  prosperous  power.  He 
calls  the  king  their  'Mistaken  Parent'  He  appeals  to  the 
officers  not  to  forget  the  common  Errours  to  which  all  men 
are  subject.  '  O  stain  not  the  Renown  of  your  valour  by  so 
mercilessc  an  Act,  as  the  destroying  your  King.'  In  his  final 
exhortation  he  speaks  of  the  day,  'When  the  world  shall 
see  your  power  bounded  with  Loyalty,  sanctified  with  Pitty, 


Notes 


69 


not  foolish  and  feminine,  which  I  would  have  below  you 
but  masculine,  Heroick,  truly  Christian  and  Divine,'  etc. 
This  letter  is  highly  rhetorical  and  in  the  last  period  the 
author,  with  his  talk  of  feminine  and  masculine,  gave  MUton 
his  idea  for  -the  unmasculine  Rhetorick  of  any  puline  Priest 
or  Chaplain.' 

7.  16.  Self-repugnance  of  our  dancing  Divines.  Repug- 
nant  to  themselves,  self-contradictory.  In  the  contemptuous 
epithet  Milton  is  probably  insinuating  that  the  Presbyterian 
ministers  were  under  the  influence  of  a  nervous  disease  epi- 
demic in  the  sixteenth  century,  known  as  the  dancing  malady 
The  meaning  may  be,  however,  that  they  danced  to  different 
kmds  of  music;  yesterday  they  were  against  the  king  to- 
day they  support  him. 

7.  17.  OloM'd  and  fitted  for  thir  tume«.  He  reverts  to 
the  thought  that  his  opponents  wrest  Scripture  to  their 
tunus  or  purposes.  A  gloss  is  a  comment  or  explanation 
upon  a  word  or  passage  in  the  text.  Cf  Sam.  Agon.  1.  948  • 
'Bearing  my  words  and  doings  to  the  lords.  To  gloss  upon, 
and  censuring  fi-own  or  smile.' 

7.  23.  Clasaie  and  Provinciall  Lord*.  Under  the  Pres- 
byterian form  of  church  government  in  England  there  were 
instituted  Classical,  Provincial,  and  National  Assemblies 
corresponding  to  the  three  modem  Presbyterian  church 
courts,  the  Presbytery,  the  Synod,  and  the  General  Assembly. 
When  the  Westminster  Assembly  drew  up  a  frame  of  Pres- 
byterian church-government  for  England  in  May,  1645,  they 
provided  that  the  ecclesiastical  province,  should  be  about 
sixty  m  number.  The  number  of  Classes  or  Presbyteries  in 
London  were  to  be  fourteen.  The  meetings  of  the  twelve 
London  Presbyteries  and  the  two  Presbyteries  of  the  Inns 
of  Court  were  called  Classical  Meetings.  In  his  stinging 
sonnet.  On  the  Forcers  of  Conscience,  Milton  speaks  of  the 
Presbyterian  divines  as  'a  Classic  Hierarchy.'  For  a  fall 
description  of  the  establishment  of  the  Presbyterian  system 
m  England  see  W.  A.  Shaw,  Hist,  of  the  Eng.  Church 
1640-1660,  vol.  2,  pp.  1-174.  See  also  Masson,  1.,/e  of  Milton 
8.  897,  424  and  469. 


70  The  1  enure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 

7.  24.  While  ploralitiea  greas'd  them  thick  and  deepe. 
Milton  repeats  this  charge  in  Sec.  Dff.  (Bohn  1.  268)  with 
more  detail.  See  also  first  Def.  (Bohn  1.  26) :  '  As  soon  as 
the  bishops,  and  those  clergymen  vhom  they  daily  inveighed 
against,  and  branded  with  the  odious  names  of  pluralists 
and  non-residents,  were  taken  out  of  their  waj ,  they  presently 
jump,  some  into  two,  some  into  three,  of  their  best  benefices ; 
being  now  warm  themselves,  they  suon  unworthily  neglected 
their  charge.'  Cf.  To  Rem,  Hire  (Bohn  8.  81).  For  further 
discussion  of  this  subject  see  Introd.  p.  26  ff. 

7.  33.  Censorious  domineering.  Not  an  untruthful  des- 
cription of  the  heat  and  dogmatism  of  divines  on  political 
measures.  Matters  before  parliament  were  fully  discussed 
in  the  pulpits. 

When  the  Independents  secured  a  majority  in  the  House 
ofCom.mons  they  dealt  a  blow  at  their  Presbyterian  opponents 
by  ordering  on  March  26,  1649i  that  no  ministers  should 
teach  in  their  pulpits  anything  relating  to  state  affairs,  but 
only  to  preach  Christ  in  sincerity.  On  July  9  of  the  same 
year,  parliament  declared  all  ministers  delinquents,  if  they 
preached  or  prayed  against  the  government,  publicly  mentioned 
Charles  or  James  Stuart,  or  refused  t?  keep  days  of  public 
humiliation,  or  to  publish  acts  and  or: <ers  of  parliament.  See 
Gardiner,  Hist,  of  C.  W.  and  Protectorate  1. 191. 

7.  34.  Truth  and  conscience  to  ha  freed.  Presbyterianism 
was  intolerant  of  other  sects,  but  the  Independents  granted 
liberty  of  conscience  to  all  except  atheists  and  Papists.  Even 
Richard  Baxter,  the  saintliest  of  all  Presb3fterians  of  his  time, 
would  have  enslaved  truth  and  conscience,  fn  his  sketch 
of  the  ideal  commonwealth  he  lays  down  the  principle  that 
none  are  to  be  electors,  but  those  who  have  publicly  owned 
the  Baptismal  Covenant,  in  other  words  those  who  are 
Presbyterian  church  members  in  good  standing.  Those  who 
despise  public  worship  are  to  be  deprived  of  the  right  to 
vote,  and  ministers  of  the  church  are  to  be  able  to  dis- 
franchise mcLibers  by  excommunicating  them  (See  Baxter, 
A  Holy  Commonwealik,  or  Pbliticai  Aphorisms  opening  the 
True  Princip^^s  of  Governmeni,  p.  247).     Toleration   was 


Notes  71 

denounced  by  the  Presbyterian  synod  at  Sion  College  in 
164S  as  '  a  root  of  gall  and  bitterness  both  in  present  and 
fiiture  ages.'  The  same  decision  was  reached  by  the  min- 
isters of  Lancashire,  a  section  where  Presbyterianism  was 
particularly  strong.  They  declared  that  toleration  was  the 
taking  away  of  all  conscience,  the  appointing  of  a  city  of 
refuge  in  men's  consciences  for  the  devil  to  fly  to.  Neale, 
Hist,  of  Puritans  2.  882. 

The  sprighUy  Edwards  has  no  hesitation  in  affirming  that 
'A  toleration  is  the  grand  design  of  the  devil.'  He  declares 
that  more  books  have  been  written  and  sermons  preached 
on  toleration  during  the  last  four  years  (1642-1646)  than  on 
any  other  subject  {Gangrana,  1.  3.  121,  122). 

For  a  previous  utterance  of  Milton  in  behalf  of  hberty  of 
conscience  see  Areop.  (Bohn  2.92):  'Under  these  fantastic 
terrors  of  sect  and  schism,  we  wrong  the  earnest  and  zealous 
thirst  after  knowledge  and  understanding,  which  God  hath 
stirred  up  in  this  city.'    See  also  his  sonnet  to  Cromwell, 

_,  New  foes  arise 

Threaterang  to  bind  our  souls  with  secular  chains 
Help  us  to  save  free  conscience  from  the  paw 
Of  hireling  wolves,  whose  gospel  Is  their  maw. 

Cf.  also  his  vigorous  handling  of  the  intolerants  in  the  poem 
on  The  New  Forcers  of  Conscience  with  its  famous  closing 
line,  * 

New  Presbyter  is  but  Old  Priest  writ  large. 

7.  34.  Tithes  and  Plnralitiei  to  he  no  more.  In  his 
anticipation  of  the  Liberal  legislative  programme  Milton 
prophesies  that  the  tithing  system  will  be  abolished. 

The  actual  origin  of  the  payment  of  tithes  is  unknown. 
They  were  probably  -  id  to  the  medieval  monasteries  as 
oblalions.  The  first  legislative  action  on  the  subject  was 
taken  in  the  reign  of  Edward  I  who  ordered  *hat  a  tenth  of 
the  value  of  the  crops  should  be  paid  to  support  the  church. 
Landovimers  alone  were  subject  to  this  tax.  The  law  could 
be  enforced  by  distress  and  by  sale,  or  by  order  of  a  Justice 


'I 


I 


72 


The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 


of  the  Peace.  See  F.  A.  Indenvick,  The  Inkrregmtm^  John 
Sclden,  Hist,  of  Tytkes,  pp.  47-53,  also  W.  Bohun,  Tke  Law 
of  Tithes,  passim. 

As  Milton  indicates,  the  Independent  party  in  parliament 
had  an  idea  of  abolishing  tithes  and  providing  some  competent 
maintenance  for  a  preaching  ministry.  Several  attempts  were 
made  in  this  direction,  but  the  Commonwealth  was  really 
too  poor  to  establish  any  satisfactory  new  method.  The 
Presbyterian  ministers  were  naturally  averse  to  any  prohib- 
itory legislation  regarding  tithes,  for  they  had  followed 
their  prelatical  predecessors  in  upholding  their  right  to  this 
ancient  source  of  revenue.  '  The  Presbyterians  preach  for 
their  god,  viz.  the  tenth  of  every  man's  estates,  and  for  forms,' 
says  Whitelocke,  Memorials  2.  488.  Cf.  W.  A.  Shaw,  Htst. 
Ettg.  Church  2.  255  fif. 

Milton  denounces  tithes  in  To  Rem.  Hire,,  passim. 

7.  84.  Ploralitiea.  As  early  as  1642  the  House  of  Commons 
recommended  five  bills  to  the  king  as  the  ground  of  a  treaty. 
One  of  these  was  '  An  act  against  the  enjoying  pluralities  of 
benefices  by  spiritual  persons,  and  nonresidence,'  But  the  king 
refused  to  come  to  terms  and  the  bill  was  therefore  not  passed. 
On  Nov,  8,  1647,  a  proposition  against  pluralities  was  agreed 
to  by  both  Houses  of  Parliament  (Neale,  Hist,  of  the  Puritans 
2.  63.  Pluralities  were  never  legislated  out  of  existence, 
however. 

7.  a5.    Competent  Allovance.    Cf.  Sec.  Def  (Bohn  1.  275). 
Wanne  Experience  of  Urge  gifts.  When  ministers  preached 

before  parliament,  or  sat  on  commissions,  they  were  liberally 
paid.  In  March,  1650,  an  order  was  passed  to  send  over  six 
able  ministers  to  preach  in  Dublin.  They  were  to  have 
£200  per  annum  apiece  out  of  bishops'  and  deans'  and 
chapters'  lands  in  Ireland. 

8.  3.  To  exclude  and  Bei2e  on  impeach't  Members.  On 
June  14,  1647,  the  Army  sent  forth  a  remonstrance  in  which 
they  impeached  eleven  Presbyterian  leaders  of  the  Commons, 
Holies,  Stapleton,  Waller,  Glynn,  Massey,  etc.  and  demanded 
their  exclusion  from  parliament.  When  the  army  marched 
against    London    nine    fled    to   the   continent.     Glynn   and 


Notes 


73 


Maynard,  who  remained  behind,  were  impeached  and  sent 
to  the  Tower,  Sept  7,  1647. 

8  4^  Delinquent..  Milton  has  the  king  in  mind  as  the 
chief  dehnquent.  The  preamble  to  an  ordinance  passed  by 
parlament,  April  1,  1643,  sets  forth  ■  that  it  is  most  agreeaL  e 
to  common  justice  that  the  estates  of  such  notorious  delin- 
quents  as  have  been  the  causes  or  instruments  of  the  public 
calamme.,  should  be  converted  and  applied  towards  the 
support  of  the  Commonwealth.'  On  August  19.  1843  this 
ordmance  was  iurther  explained,  as  including  in  the  number 
of  dehnquents  such  as  absented  from  their  usual  places  of 
abode  or  betook  themselves  to  the  king's  forces,  and  such 
as  concealed  effects,  evaded  taxes  or  disobeyed  parliament's 
ordera  m  various  ways.    See  Neale,  Hisl.  of  the  Puritans 

n  tu*'  ^r^  °**''"  ''"''  ■*-'"™»-  ^""^  conspired  with 
Uathan  and  Abiram  against  Moses  and  Aaron.  See  Num.  16 
mton  refers  to  the  language  of  the  Sion  tract  (see  below 
63  14):  'You  know  the  sad  examples  of  Corah,  Dathan  and 
Abiram  m  their  mutinous  Rebellion,  and  Levelling  designe 
against  Magistracy  and  Ministry,  in  the  persons  of  Moses 
and  Aaron'  (A  Serious  and  Faithful  RepresenlaHon  of  the 
Judgment  of  the  MinisUrs  of  the  Gospel  within  the  Province 
of  London,  signed  by  forty-seven  ministers  at  Sion  College 
including  Case,  Gataker,  Gower,  Roborough,  and  Wallis,  of 
the  Westminster  Assembly,  and  addressed  to  Fairfa;  and 
the  Council  of  War,  Jan.  18,  1649,  p.  10). 

8.7.  A  cursed  Tyrant,  etc.  On  the  preaching  of  seditious 
sermons  by  the  ministers  of  the  time,  and  by  Stephen  Marshall 
m  particular,  see  Clarendon,  Hist  of  the  Rebellion,  6.39ff. 
ako  Robt  Barclay,  The  Inner  Life  of  the  Religious  Societies 
of  the  Commonwealth,  p.  ,86.  Stephen  Marshall  preached 
before  Commons,  Feb.  23,  1641:  'He  is  a  cursed  man  that 
wiUiholds  his  hands  from  shedding  of  blood,  or  that  shall  do 
It  fraudulently,  i.  e.,  kill  some  and  save  some.  If  he  go  not 
through  with  the  work,  he  is  a  cursed  man,  when  this  is  to 
be  done  on  Moab,  the  enemy  of  God's  church.'  Another 
divme,  named  Case,  preaching  to  the  Commons  on  Jer.  48 


74  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 

10,  said :  '  Cursed  be  he  that  withhoideth  his  swor  ^.  from 
blood,  that  spares  when  God  saith  strike,  that  suffer,  those 
to  escape  whom  God  hath  appointed  to  destruction ' ;  to  the 
Commons  on  Nov.  5,  1644,  he  said : '  Do  justice  to  the  greatest. 
Saul's  sons  are  not  to  be  spared;  no,  nor  may  Agag,  nor 
Benhadad,  tho'  themselves  kings:  Timri  and  Cosbi,  though 
princes  of  the  people,  must  be  pursued  unto  their  tents. 
This  is  the  way  to  consecrate  yourselves  to  God.'  A  Royalist 
writer  says,  '  The  pulpit  sounded  as  much  as  the  drum,  and 
the  preacher  spit  as  much  flame  as  the  cannon.  Curse  ye 
Meroz,  was  the  text,  and  blood  and  plunder,  the  comment 
and  the  use '  {A  Loyal  Tear,  a  Sermon  on  Sin,  p.  80). 

Price  declares  that  the  London  ministers  have  changed 
front  towards  Charles,  '  whom  your  selves  and  the  Church 
of  Scotland  have  charged  for  the  greatest  Delinquent,  guilty 
of  the  blood  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  ProtesUnts,  the 
bloudiest  man  under  heaven '  {Ckrtco-Classicum^  p.  28), 

Whitelocke  tells  the  story  of  a  Scotch  minister,  who 
preached  boldly  before  the  king  at  Newcastle,  and  after  his 
sermon  called  for  the  52nd  Psalm,  which  begins,  'Why 
dost  thou,  tyrant,  boast  thyself  thy  wicked  works  to  praise  ? ' 
{Mentor.  2.  94). 

The  king  himself  denounced  the  Presbyterian  ministers  as 
being  ignorant  in  learning,  turbulent  and  seditious  in  disposition, 
scandalous  in  hfe,  unconformable  to  the  laws  of  the  land, 
libellers  both  of  church  and  state,  and  preachers  of  sedition 
and  treason  itself.    See  Neale,  Hist,  of  Puritans  2.  426. 

8.  10.  Though  nothing  penitent  or  alter'd.  To  the  last 
Charles  refused  to  subscribe  to  the  Solemn  League  and 
Covenant  Through  all  his  negotiations  with  the  Scots  and 
with  the  English  House  of  Commons,  he  continually  spoke 
of  the  royal  prerogative  and  endeavored  to  make  a  proviso 
for  the  partial  establishment  of  episcopacy.  The  king  was 
too  firm  a  believer  in  divine  right  to  he  penitent  for  his 
past  conduct,  and  too  stubborn  to  relinquish  his  first  principles. 
Of.  EikoH  (Bohn  1.474):  *His  impenitence  and  obstinacy  to 
the  end.' 

8.  11.    A  lawful  Hngiatrate,  a  Sovrane  Lord,  the  Lords 


Nil€s 


75 


8.11.    Annointod.    Milton  is  here  scornfully  repeating  the 
epithets  of  the  Sion  tract.    See  A  Serums  and  FaUkful  Ret 
etc.,  pp.  12,  13. 

8.  12.  Hottobetonch'd.thoughbyUiMMelTMlinprtaoii'd. 
This  argument  is  resumed  later,  and  pushed  to  its  logical 
concluaion.    See  pp.  srff. 

8.  22.  Hl«  panicnlar  charge.  The  charge  which  wiU  be 
bn,ught  against  Charles  by  parliament 

8.  1:6.  The  people,  thongh  in  nmnber  lane  by  many. 
An  obscure  statement.  The  majority  of  the  representatives 
m  parUameiit  must  be  reckoned  for  the  whole  people.  Robt. 
Filmer  so  understands  thw  sentence.  See  his  Oiservahoxs 
concerning  the  Original  of  Govemmenl,  p.  19. 

8.  29.  If  such  a  one  there  be.  For  another  arraignment 
of  the  king  see  First  DeJ.  (Bohn  1.  69).  A  committee  of 
the  House  of  Commons  drew  up  a  declaration  against  the 
king  'wherein  they  objected  many  high  crimes  against  him 
concerning  his  Father's  death,  the  loss  of  Kochel  and  the 
Massacre  and  KeLeUion  in  Ireland.'  Walker,  Hist,  of  Indep., 
p.  78.  See  also  The  Act  for,  Trial  of  the  King,  Walker 
ib.  p.  87. 

8.  .10.  Tniole  mamtchers  have  been  committed,  etc.  The 
Irish  insurrection  and  massacres  of  Protestants  took  place 
in  1641.  When  the  news  reached  England  the  nation  wa.s 
horrified.  The  wUdest  stories  were  soon  retailed  in  pamphlet 
form  regarding  the  awfijl  sufferings  of  the  Protestants.  The 
lowest  alculation  of  contemporary  writers  gives  an  estimate 
of  30,000  English  and  Scotch  Protestants  as  victims.  Gardiner 
IS  of  opinion,  however,  that  those  slain  in  cold  blood  at  the 
beginning  of  the  rebellion  could  hardly  have  exceeded  four 
or  five  thousand,  whilst  about  twice  that  number  may  have 
perished  from  ill-treatment  (Hist,  of  Engl.  (1603-1642), 
10.  69).  In  his  Eikon.  (Bohn  1.  407  ff.),  where  MUton  devotes 
a  whole  chapter  to  the  subject,  he  puts  the  number  of  slain 
at  154,000  in  the  province  of  Ulster  alone,  and  estimates  the 
total  sum  as  four  times  as  great.  In  Observ.  AH.  Peaa  (Bohn 
3. 183)  he  places  the  figure  at  more  that  200,000.  In  First 
Def.  (Bohn  1.  201)  he  calls  Charles  a  murderer,  by  whose 
k 


76 


The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 


order  the  Irish  took  arms,  and  put  to  death  with  most 
exquisite  torments  above  a  hundred  thousand  Englishmen. 
In  his  Observ.  Art.  Peace  (Bohn  2. 180)  his  estimate  is  much 
more  moderate.  He  blames  the  king  for  using  with  tender- 
ness and  moderation  those  bloody  rebels  after  the  merciless 
and  barbarous  massacre  of  so  many  thousand  English. 

However  uncertain  he  may  be  as  to  the  number  of  the 
slain,  Milton  is  positive  that  the  king  was  responsible  for 
the  Irish  horror.  Parliament  was  ot  the  same  opinion.  In 
a  declaration  of  parliament  issued  Feb.  Ifi,  1647,  the  king 
was  charged  with  complicity  in  the  Irish  massacre,  and  that 
he  had  an  agent  in  Rome  to  attend  to  it,  for  it  was  to  be 
managed  by  direction  from  the  Pope. 

Referring  to  the  massacre  Baxter  says :  '  Because  of  it  all 
England  was  filled  with  a  fear  both  of  the  Irish  and  Papists 
at  home,  and  when  they  saw  the  English  Papists  join  with 
the  King  against  the  Parliament,  it  was  the  greatest  thing 
that  ever  alienated  them  from  the  King '  {Life,  Pt.  1,  p.  29). 

For  an  examination  of  the  evidence  incriminating  the 
king,  see  Masson,  Life  2.  303  flF. ;  Symmons,  Life  of  Mition, 
pp.  266  ff. 

8.  31.  Hia  Provinoea  offer'd  to  pavne  or  alienaUon.  In 
First  Def.  (Bohn  1.  201)  Milton  says  that  Charles  sent  a  pri- 
vate embassy  to  the  King  of  Denmark  to  beg  assistance 
from  him  of  arms,  horses,  and  men,  expressly  against  the 
parliament.  'To  the  English  he  promised  the  plunder  of 
London ;  to  the  Scots,  that  the  four  northern  counties  should 
be  added  to  Scotland,  if  they  would  but  help  him  to  get 
rid  of  the  Parliament,  by  what  means  soever.  This  aid  was 
coming,  when  Divine  Providence,  to  divert  them,  sent  a  sud- 
den torrent  of  Swedes  into  the  bowels  of  Denmaik.'  See 
Eikott.  (Bohn  1.  890).  Again  we  read  that  the  king's  letters 
taken  at  the  battle  of  Naseby  *  revealed  his  endeavours  to 
bring  in  foreign  forces,  Irish,  French,  Dutch,  Lorraines  and 
our  old  invaders  the  Danes  upon  us '  {ib,  1.  463).  So  much 
for  Milton's  testimony.  Gardiner  states  that  Charles  appealed 
for  aid  from  the  Pope,  from  the  Duke  of  Lorraine,  begging 
him  to  lead  an  army  into  England,  and  from  the  German 


Nttei 


77 


prince..  In  order  to  obuin  the  service,  of  Count  Waldenur 
^K)^  T^  "/  niercenarie.,  he  tried  to  obtain  .  lo«  of 
«iSO,000  from  Amsterdam  merchants,  pledging  the  Scillv 
""^  "  """'y  f"  «he  repayment  of  the  money  (//J 
0/  Uu  C,tnlW„  and  ProUcloratt  1.  228).  The  King  and 
Queen  Henrietta  Maria  hoped  to  obUin  aid  from  the  King 
of  Denmark.  On  April  U.  1642,  the  Queen  wrote  to  Chri«iai 
IV,  and  rt  was  suspected  by  parliament  that  a  bribe  wa. 
offered.  Agents  of  the  king  were  also  sent  to  Demnark,  but 
what  proposition  was  made  U  unknown.  At  any  rate  it  was 
unmccessful.    See  Gardiner,  Hisl.  of  Eng.  10  188 

J\^^\  ^•"''««'-  Barclay,  one  of  the  extreme  advocates 
of  the  doctnne  of  the  divine  right  of  kings,  admits  that  if 

\r^  r?^  '■"  '''"«^'""'  "'  ''""K»  "  "">  objection  to 
another  he  forfe.ts  it  (De  Regno  .,  Regu„  B,Us J  adverts 
Monarchomachos^.  16).  In  Observ.  Art.  Peace  (Bchn  2.  182), 
MUton  acc^  Charles  of  ahenating  and  acquitting  the  whole 
produce  of  Ireland  from  all  true  fealty  and  oledience  to 
the  Commonwealth  of  England.  Parliament  decUred  that 
Charles  was  guilty  in  that  he  had  given  away  more  than 
five  count|es  to  the  Irish  rebels,  'that  Irish  Popish  a™y 
™ed  by  E^l  of  Strafford  to  reduce  the  kingdomes.'    (ZV 

^'.w/iT'^' '"  ^™'  '^'"-  ^^-  ^"^  ""™"'«y 

*„h'*"  """  S"""^  •' J"-""  i»  aboT.  him.  Did  MUton 
tad  P  pattern  for  this  phrase  in  Christopher  Goodmans 
book  H«.  I„^  p^„s  ought  to  be  Oieyd,  etc.  p!Z: 
Be  he  Kmge,  Quene  or  Emperour  he  must  dye  the  death  '  > 
^  below  60.21.  Cf.  the  eloquent  apostrophe  to  Justice  in 
E,kon.  (Bohn  1.484):  'She  it  is,  who  accepts  no  pe,«,n 
ana  exempts  none  from  the  severity  of  her  stroke ' 

9.  2.  So  great  a  delnge  of  innocent  Wood.  MUton  and 
to  party  blamed  Charles  Stuart  'that  man  of  blood,'  for 
.  RMff^^r  '^  ■"  ""^  *^'"'  W"-    I"  ^'*''"-  (Bohn 

by  the  author  oi  E,ko»  BasUike,  'Whose  innocent  blood  he 

a^n^v  ■  7^'i  "''^'"™'  "   °'^''^'  '^'^   "^  "toess 
agamst  him?'    See  also  5.  28. 

kz 


^1 


7« 


The  TtHUrt  of  Kings  and  MagistrtJtfs 


8.  12.  For  If  ftU  hamuw  povor  to  •zaoute.  etc.  b  thii 
•  comment  on  Calvin's  teaching?  He  adviaei  passive 
obedience  in  the  presence  of  the  moart  cn'el  tyranny,  but 
holds  out  a  hope  that  God  will  execute  his  .ath  upon  the 
offending  king.  *  For  sometimes  he  raises  up  some  of  his 
servants  as  public  avengers,  and  arms  them  with  his  com- 
mission to  punish  unrighteous  domination,'  etc.  {Institutes 
4.  20.  30).    See  also  Rom.  13.  4. 

9.  6.  Or  if  that  falle.  extraordinair.  Prynne  and  others 
were  questioning  the  ordinary  power  of  parliament  to  put 
the  king  to  death.  In  this  phrase  Milton  boldly  declares  that 
he  would  go  outside  the  bounds  of  precedent  or  statutory 
law  to  punish  a  tyrant 

9.  8.  But  to  nnfold  more  at  large  this  whole  Qneation. 
The  introduction  is  now  complete.  In  this  sentence  he  an- 
nounces his  theme. 

9. 16.  Not  learnt  in  comers  among  Sohismes  and  Herisies. 
An  attempt  to  anticipate  unfavorable  criticism.  By  his  divorce 
pamphlets  Milton  had  earned  the  reputation  of  a  heretic. 
The  interjection  of  this  clause  shows  his  sensitiveness  to  the 
attacks  made  upon  him.  Although  a  freethinker,  he  scarcely 
enjoyed  being  called  a  schismatic  or  a  heretic. 

9.  19.  Authentic.  Gr.  ar^tiTtxos,  warranted.  Ci.Eikon. 
(Bohn.  1.  486):  'For  it  were  extreme  partiality  and  injustice, 
the  flat  denial  and  overthrow  of  herself,  to  put  her  own 
authentic  sword  into  the  hand  of  an  unjust  and  wicked  man,'  etc. 

9.  19.  Ho  prohibited  authors.  An  allusion  to  the  Church 
Fathers,  against  whose  authority  Protestant  theologians  rebel- 
led. Milton  himself  had  little  respect  for  the  Fathers.  In 
a  former  treatise,  PreL  Epis.,  he  had  expresses  his  contempt 
in  these  words :  '  They  cannot  think  any  doubt  resolved,  and 
any  Doctrine  confirmed,  unless  they  run  to  that  indigested 
heap  and  firy  of  authors  which  they  call  antiquity.  What- 
soever time,  or  the  heedless  hand  of  blind  chance  hath  drawn 
down  from  of  old  to  this  present,  in  her  huge  drag-net, 
whether  fish,  or  seaweed,  shells  or  shrubs,  unpicked,  unchosen, 
those    are   the   fathers '   (Bohn  2,  422).     Cf.  To  Rem.  Htre. 


Nttti  -n 

(Bohn  S.  »8) :  •  The  obicure  and  tangled  word  of  antiquity, 
fathen  and  council  lighting  one  against  another.' 

9.  20.  Orthodoxal.  This  form  is  used  in  EikoM.  (Bohn. 
I.  888),  and  Pnl.  Epis.  (Bohn  2.  428).  Milton  also  u.sed  the 
word  paradoxal  in  To  Rem.  Hire.  (Bohn  8.  3). 

9.  24.  All  men  utnnllj  wen  borne  tn».  This  favorite 
modem  contention  first  found  formal  expression  in  the  work 
uf  the  Roman  jurists  who  instituted  the  Justinian  Code. 
Ulpian,  the  greatest  of  these  lawyers,  declared  in  treating 
of  slavery  that  so  far  as  pertains  to  natural  rights,  aU  men 
are  equal  (Digest  SO.  17.  82);  aUo  by  natural  law  all  men 
are  bom  free  (Instiluies  of  Justiman  1.  2.  2);  the  application 
of  these  principles  to  politics  proper,  however,  dates  back 
to  the  treatise  of  Nicholas  of  Cues,  De  Comordamia  Callio- 
lica,  the  views  of  which  he  presented  to  the  Council  of  Basel 
in  I86S.  Almost  the  exact  phrases  used  by  Milton  are  to 
be  found  in  this  influential  and  learned  work.  See  Dunning, 
Pol.  Tkeories  Amienl  and  Mediaval,  p.  278.  This  idea,  thu.s 
stated  by  the  jurists  and  by  Nicholas  o'  Cues,  was  given 
new  life  by  the  author  of  the  famous  treatise,  Vindicia  Contra 
Tyramos.  The  author  of  this  revolutionary  tract  says: 
•Men  are  by  nature  free,  impatient  of  servitude,  prone  to 
rule  rather  than  to  obey.  It  can  only  be  for  .some  great 
benefit  that  they  renounce  the  law  of  their  own  nature  tc. 
bear  that  of  another.  The  inducement  was  the  necessity  of 
security,  when  the  distinction  between  nuum  and  tuum  wa.s 
introduced,  when  fellow-citizens  began  to  quarrel  for  property, 
and  neighboring  nations  for  territory;  then  the  people  had 
recourse  to  a  ruler  to  protect  the  weaker  from  the  stronger, 
the  nation  from  its  neighbora'  (Digest  by  H.  Armstrong, 
Etig.  Hist.  Rev.  4.  31). 

Even  the  earlier  supporters  of  despotic  principles,  Barclay 
and  Blackwood,  for  instance,  accepted  as  a  truism  the  theory 
that  all  men  were  naturally  bom  free,  so  that  Milton  feels 
quite  safe  in  saying  that  every  educated  man  wUl  agree  with 
him  on  this  point.  This  theory  was  to  be  contested,  however, 
by  Filmer  in  his  Patriarch!  in  the  very  year  this  pamphlet 
was  published,  and  later  writeis,such  as  Heylin,  Mainwaring, 


8o 


The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 


and  Hobbes,  were  to  set  it  at  naught.  But  the  pleasing;  as- 
sumption could  not  be  argued  out  of  existence,  and,  a  century 
afterwards  it  found  its  way  into  the  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence, and  later  still  provided  a  favorite  text  for  the  orators 
of  the  French  Revolution. 

In  Eikon.  (Bohn  1.  465)  Milton  roundly  declares:  Men  are 
by  naiure  free ;  bom  and  created  with  a  better  title  to  their 
freedom  than  any  king  hath  to  his  crown.'  See  also  Ready 
and  Easy  Way  (Bohn  2.  138). 

9.  26.    The  image  and reBemblanoe  of  Ood.    SeeGen.1.26. 

9.  20.  By  privilege  above  all  the  creatures.  See  Gen. 
1.  26,  28. 

9.  28.  The  Root  of  Adam's  transgression.  See  the  story 
of  the  fall  and  its  consequences,  Gen.  3  and  4.  Milton  has 
in  mind  theological  refinements  on  the  simple  story  of  Genesis, 
especially  the  doctrine  of  imputed  sin.  See  his  elaboration 
of  this  theme  in  P.  L.,  Book  10.  Augustine,  rather  than  Paul, 
emphasized  the  doctrine  of  imputed  guilt,  and  paved  the  way 
for  the  endless  disquisitions  of  Calvimsts  on  original  sin. 
Augustine  and  Gregory'  the  Great  were  the  first  Christian 
teachers  to  advance  the  argument  that  human  government 
was  introduced  among  men  on  aticoimt  of  Adam's  trans- 
gression. This  view  was  held  by  the  church  imtil  the  time 
of  Wycliflfe.  Thomas  Aquinas  was  probably  the  first  teacher 
to  depart  from  this  belief. 

In  a  pamphlet  published  anonymously  in  London  in  1644 
{Jus  Poptdf,  pp.  42,  43)  we  come  upon  a  passage  which 
seems  almost  a  paraphrase  of  Milton's  thought:  'The  nature 
of  Man  being  depraved  by  the  fall  of  Adam,  miseries  of  all 
sorts  broke  in  upon  us  in  throngs,  together  with  sin;  inso- 
much that  no  creature  is  now  so  uncivile  and  untame,  or  so 
unfit  either  to  live  with  or  without  societie,  as  Man.'  Todd, 
in  his  Life  of  Milton,  pp.  226,  226  (London,  1826),  notes  this 
pamphlet,  and  discusses  whether  Milton  could  have  written  it. 

9.  12.  They  agreed  by  common  leagas.  This  is  the  polit- 
ical theory  made  popular  in  later  days  by  Rousseau  and 
called  by  him  the  Contrat  Social.  For  the  source  of  this 
interesting  idea  we  must  go  back  to  the  writings  of  the 


Notes 


8i 


stoics.  Lord  Acton,  in  his  essay  entitled  History  of  Fnahm, 
p.  18,  says :  '  Tlie  notion  that  men  lived  originally  in  a  state 
of  nature,  by  violence  and  without  laws,  is  due  to  Critias. 
Communism  in  its  grossest  form  was  recommended  by 
Diogenes  of  Sinope.  According  to  the  Sophists  there  is  no 
duty  above  expediency,  and  no  virtue  apart  from  pleasure. 
Epicurus  said  that  all  societies  are  founded  on  contract,  for 
mutual  protection.' 

Among  the  French  pamphleteers  of  the  latter  half  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  the  social  contract  theory  was  very  popular. 
It  was  such  a  stock  idea  that  it  is  impossible  to  ascribe  it 
to  any  one  individual.  It  is  deUberately  made  the  foundation- 
principle  upon  which  the  Vindicia  Contra  Tynumos  rests. 
Milton's  idea  of  contract  is  that  power  is  only  temporarily 
surrendered,  and  may  be  recalled  when  abused.  Suarez  and 
other  French  theorists  held  that  subjects  by  compact  sur- 
rendered their  rights  once  for  all,  and  can  never  legally 
recover  them.  Thus  they  justified  absolutism.  Hobbes  also 
adopted  this  idea:  'They  that  are  subjects  to  a  monarch, 
cannot  without  his  leave  cast  off  monarchy,  and  return  to 
the  confiision  of  a  disunited  multitude'  (imortaw,  ed  Morley, 
p.  8fi).  It  can  be  seen,  therefore,  that  the  ingenuity  of  the 
upholdere  of  divine  right  tried  to  make  even  this  democratic 
doctrine  serve  their  own  purposes. 

For  an  exposure  of  the  unhistorical  character  of  this  theory, 
see  J.  Bluntschli,  The  Theory  of  the  State,  pp.  276  ff. 

10.  9.  His  owne  partial  Jadga.  Unduly  favoring  his  own 
side  in  the  controversy. 

CoammniMted  and  deiiVd.  He  embodies  in  this  phrase 
the  idea  of  give  and  take.  He  insists  upon  the  notion  of 
a  voluntary  league  or  contract,  and  the  derivative  power 
of  kings  and  magistrates.  Thus  the  doctrine  of  the  original 
contract  and  that  oi  jure  divtno  are  placed  in  opposition. 

10.  10.  For  the  eminence  of  his  wlidom  and  intagiitie. 
Cf.  Buchanan,  De  Jure,  p.  99:  'Now  I  imagine  that  the 
mtention  of  the  ancients  in  creating  a  king  was,  according 
to  what  we  are  told  of  bees  in  their  hives,  spontaneously  to 
bestow  the  sovereignty  on  him  who  was  most  distinguished 


82 


The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 


among  his  countrymen  for  singular  merit,  and  who  seemed 
to  surpass  all  his  fellows  in  wisdom  and  equity.'  Although 
Milton  probably  transcribed  this  view  from  Buchanan,  he 
may  have  imbibed  it  from  ancient  writers,  for  Aristotle 
[Pontics,  Book  3)  and  others,  following  Herodotus,  express 
the  same  thought.  Among  ancient  writers  Polybius  (Book  6, 
Ch.  1)  held  that  the  earliest  form  of  government  was  mon- 
archy based  on  force.  The  early  men  submitted,  Uke  ani- 
mals, to  the  guidance  of  the  strongest  and  boldest.  See 
Dunning,  Pol,  Theories,  p.  116. 

10.  13.  Hagiatntes.  Bodin  lays  down  this  definition: 
'A  magistrate  is  a  publick  officer,  which  hath  power  to 
command  in  a  Commonweale  '  (ZV  Republica,  p.  293). 

10.  13.  Not  to  be  thir  Lords  and  Maisters.  See  Aristotle 
(Politics  3. 17.  2) :  'It  is  manifest  that,  where  men  are  alike 
and  equal,  it  is  neither  expedient  nor  just  that  one  man 
should  be  lord  of  all,  whether  there  are  laws,  or  whether 
there  are  no  laws,  but  he  himself  is  in  the  place  of  law.' 
Cf  First  Def.  (Bohn  1.  66). 

10.  26.  Arbitrement.  The  right  or  capicity  to  decide 
for  oneself.  Here,  free  choice.  A  word  rarely  used  in 
Milton's  day.  Used  more  frequently  since  1830.  See  P.  L. 
8.641: 

To  stand  or  fall 
Free  in  thine  own  Arbitrament  it  lies. 

10.  31.  InTent  Lawes.  In  this  fancifiil  sketch  Milton 
follows  Buchanan  in  this  argument:  'For  when  kings  ob- 
served no  laws  but  their  capricious  passions,  and  finding 
their  power  uncircumscribed  and  immoderate,  set  no  bouncU 
to  their  lusts,  and  were  swayed  mueh  by  favor,  much  by 
hatred,  and  much  by  private  interest;  their  domineering 
insolence  excited  an  universal  desire  for  laws.  On  this 
account  statutes  were  enacted  by  the  people,  and  kings 
were  in  their  judicial  decisions  obliged  to  adopt  not  what 
their  own  licentious  fancies  dictated  but  what  the  laws 
sanctioned  by  the  people  ordained '  {De  Jure  p.  108). 

Two  theories  were  then  prevalent  as  to  the  origin  of  law. 
Francis  Hotman,  in  hi<  Framo-Gatlia,  declares  that  law  is 


Ntus 


83 


the  result  of  the  gradual  growth  of  custom.  The  author  of 
Vuubaa  Contra  Tyramos  adopted  the  theory,  which  MUton 
upholds.    See  also  Hooker,  Eales.  Polity  1. 10. 

10  (note).  Wliito  M  the  magistrate,  etc.  This  sentence 
IS  quoted  from  Cicero,  De  Legibus  3. 1 :  -Ut  enim  magistrati- 
bus  leges:  ita  populo  praesunt  magistratus :  vereque  did 
potest,  magistratum  legem  esse  loquentem.  legem  autem 
mutum  magistratum.' 

Aristotle  was  probably  father  of  the  saying.  See  Politics 
4. 16.  4.  In  his  turn  Buchanan  wrote:  'You  see,  then,  that 
the  magistrate  derives  his  authority  from  the  law,  and  not 
the  law  from  the  magistrate '  (p.  188).  A  somewhat  similar 
raaxun  is  that  o(  Etienne  Pasquier  in  his  reply  to  Macchia- 
velli's  Prince:  'Lea  rois  sont  fails  pour  les  peuples,  et  non 
les  peuples  pour  les  rois '  (Henry  Baudrillart,  /.  Bodin  el 
Son  Temps,  p.  77). 

In  the  First  Def.  (Bohn  1.  70)  K  ion  gives  a  whole  page 
to  the  ampUfication  of  the  thought  which  is  here  dismissed 
m  a  line.  He  quotes  Pindar,  Orpheus,  Plato,  Aristotle,  and 
Cicero  to  support  the  contenHon  that  the  laws  ought  to 
govern  the  magistrates,  as  they  do  the  people.  His  conclusion 
IS  that  the  institution  of  magistracy  is  jure  divino,  and  the 
end  of  it  is,  that  mankind  might  live  under  certain  laws  and 
be  governed  by  them.  See  also  Observ.  Art.  Peace  (Bohn 
2. 183). 

11.  7.    Instalment.    Installation. 

11.  8.  Upon  thsK  termes  and  no  other.  Milton  has  the 
ancient  practices  of  the  French  nation  in  mind.  In  the 
First  Def.  (Bohn  1. 107  ff.)  he  says :  ■  For  not  only  Hottoman 
(Francis  Hotman,  author  of  FrancoGallial  but  Guiccard,  a 
very  eminent  historian  of  that  nation,  informs  us  that  the 
ancient  records  of  the  kingdom  of  France  tesUfy  that  the 
subjects  of  that  nation,  upon  the  first  institution  of  kingship 
amongst  them,  reserved  a  power  to  themselves,  both  of 
choosing  their  princes  and  of  deposing  them  again,  if  they 
thought  fit;  and  that  the  oath  of  allegiance,  which  they 
took,  was  upon  this  express  condition:  to  wit,  that  the  king 
should  Ukewise  perform  what  at  hU  coronation  he  swore  to 


84  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 

do.  So  that  if  kings,  by  misgoverning  the  people  committed 
to  their  charge,  first  broke  their  own  oath  to  their  subjects, 
there  needs  no  pope  to  dispense  with  the  people's  oaths; 
the  kings  themselves  by  their  own  perfidiousness,  having 
absolved  their  subjects.' 

11.  9.  Bond  orCovnant.  Covenant  is  the  Biblical  synonym 
for  bond,  or  any  solemn  agreement.  In  ancient  times  a 
covenant  was  accompanied  by  a  religious  rite.  Among  the 
Hebrews  the  most  important  covenant  was  between  the 
people  and  the  Deity.  The  primitive  form  of  the  rite  con- 
sisted in  cutting  sacrificial  victims  in  pieces,  between  which 
the  contracting  parties  passed.  See  Gen.  IS.  17;  Jer.  84. 18, 
19.  There  are  many  instances  of  covenants  in  the  Old 
Testament  between  God  aiid  man,  and  between  man  and 
man.  The  most  celebrated  instance  of  a  covenant  in  modem 
history  is  that  of  the  league  of  the  Scots  against  the  intro- 
duction of  prelacy.    See  Introduction. 

11.  9.  Those  Lawes  which  they  the  people  had  themselTee 
made,  or  assented  to.  Cf  Buchanan :  '  Our  kings  at  their 
public  inauguration  solemnly  promise  to  the  whole  people  to 
observe  the  statutes,  customs,  and  institutions  of  our  an- 
cestors, and  to  adhere  strictly  to  that  system  of  jurisprudence 
handed  down  by  antiquity.  This  fact  is  proved  by  tiie  whole 
tenour  of  the  ceremonies  at  their  coronation,  and  by  their 
first  arrival  in  our  cities.  From  all  these  circumstances  it 
may  be  easily  conceived  what  sort  of  power  they  received 
from  our  ancestors,  and  that  it  was  clearly  such  as  magis- 
trates, elected  by  suf&age,  are  bound  by  oath  not  to  exceed ' 
{De  Jure,  p.  158). 

11.  13.  Gonnaelon  and  ParUmenos.  Hotman  speaks  oi 
'the  Common  Councel  of  the  chosen  men  in  the  whole 
nation '  (Fratuo-GaUia,  p.  69). 

11.  13.  Kot  to  be  onely  at  his  beok.  The  king  calls 
parliament  to  meet.  The  Royalists  contended  that  the  later 
sessions  oi  the  Long  Parliament  were  illegal,  because  it  as- 
sembled without  the  king's  consent.  Milton  argues  that, 
whether  with  the  king  or  without  him,  the  parliament  can 
meet  to  devise  ways  and  means  to  care  for  the  public  safety. 


Notes  gj 

He  resents  the  imputation  of  monarchical  writeis  that  the 
parhament  is  the  mere  crjature  of  the  kiny. 

11.18.    CUndiMSMeU.    CUude  de  Seyssel  (14S0-1S20) 
For  fifty  yean.  Seyssel  was  professor  of  law  in  the  Univereity 
ol  Turin.    He  was  also  bishop  of  Laon,  later  of  MaiseUIes  and 
archbishop  of  Turin  in  1617.    He  was  also  one  of  the  most 
noted  diplomats  of  his  time,  serving  on  various  missions  for 
Henry  VH  and  Louis  XII.    Seyssel  was  a  voluminous  author 
He  translated  classical  authors  and  produced  many  theological 
works,  but  IS  remembered  chiefly  for  his  historical  writings 
fte  most  important  of  which  was  U  Gramf  Momrchit  d, 
/-raw,  {1319,  in  Latin  1648).     He  glorifies  the  rigime  of 
Louis  xn,  absolute  in  principle  but  moderate  in  practice 
Milton  studied  Seyssel's  masterpiece  very  carefully.     He 
was  attracted  to  its  pages  because  the  Turin  diplomatiirt  laid 
great  stress  upon  tne  power  of  the  stetes-general,  and  em- 
phasi«d  the  limitations  of  kingly  prerogative.    Milton  stored 
up  m  the  pages  of  his  Commonplace  Book  choice  passages 
from  U  Gramt  Momrchie  de  France.     The  entry  in  the 
Commonplace  Book  (p.  33)  is  as  follows:  'Rex  Gallia  par- 
^enti  sni  perpetui  decretia  parare  necesse  habet,  ut  scribit 
Claudius  SeseUius,  quod  iUe  Iranum  regis  vocat;  de  repub 
Gallor.  1.  1 :  ad  quaestores  etiam  publicos  rationes  expensarum 
regiarum  referuntur:  quas  ilU  potestatem  minuend!  habent, 
si  immoderatas  vel  inutiles  esse  cognoverint;  ibid.'    Seyssel 
however,  copied  this  saying  from  Plato.     Hotman  quotes' 
Plato  s  words  in  Franco-Gallia,  p.  69. 

This  comparison  is  repeated  in  rirst  Def.  (Bohn  1  164) 
and  m  Notts  on  Dr.  Griffith's  Sermon  (Bohn  2.  36))-  'Par- 
liaments, which  by  the  law  of  this  land  are  his  bridle;  in 
vam  his  bndle,  if  not  also  his  rider.'  For  the  general  thought, 
the  supremacy  of  parliament  to  the  king,  see  Eikon  fBohii 
1.  360,  364). 

11.  28.  Oeman.  Bodin,  De  Republica,  pp.  221,  2S6  sup- 
ports this  appeal  to  the  history  of  Germany.  He  states  that 
the  sovereignty  of  the  German  empire  lay  in  the  hands  of 
'three  or  foure  hundred  men,'  electors,  princes,  and  ambas- 
sadors deputed  for  the  imperial  cities. 


86 


The  Tenun  of  Kings  and  Magiitralet 


11.  38.  Fre&eta.  See  the  section  entitled  Rex  Anglicae,  etc. 
in  the  Comnumpha  Book,  p.  82 :  '  Scotland  was  at  fint  an 
elective  kingdom  for  a  long  time :  vide  Hist.  Scot.  France 
an  elective  kingdom  either  to  choose  or  to  depose.  Bernard 
de  Gerard,  Hist.  France :  faut  noter  che  (sic)  jusques  a  Hues 
Capet,  tons  les  rois  de  France  ont  este  eleuz  par  le  Francois 
qui  se  reserverent  ceate  puissance  d'elire  e  bannir  e  chasser 
leur  rois. — By  parliament  of  three  estates,  first  then  found  out, 
Charles  Martel  was  chosen  Prince  of  the  French.  Bern,  de 
Gerard,  1.  2,  p.  109,  and  Pepin  King,  1.  3,  p.  134.  .Afterward 
Charles  the  Simple,  though  of  the  race  of  Charles  the  Great, 
depos'd  and  Robert  crown'd  in  his  stead  by  the  French.' 

Arragonian.  Aragon,  one  of  the  chief  divisions  of  Spain, 
formerly  an  independent  kingdom.  See  Commonplace  Book, 
p.  27.:  'I  re  Aragonesi  non  hanno  assoluta  I'autorita  regia 
in  tutte  le  cose.    Guicciardin.  1.  6,  Hist.  p.  347.' 

The  favorite  formula  of  the  pamphleteers  was  borrowed, 
not  from  England,  but  from  Spain.  In  the  words  of  the 
coronation  oath  administered  to  Aragonian  kings,  the  people 
were  guaranteed  as  many  rights  and  more  power  than  the 
monarch.  It  was  as  follows :  '  Nos  que  valemos  tanto  come 
vos,  OS  hazemos  nuestro  rey  y  senor  con  tal  que  nos  guardeis 
nuestros  fueros  y  libertades:  y  sino,  no.'  See  Du  Hamel, 
Hist.ConstitutioneUt  de  la Monanliie Espagnok  1. 215.  Hotman 
also  describes  the  election,  and  gives  the  coronation  oath  in 
fiill  {Franco-GalUa,  p.  71). 

12.  3.  William  the  Noiman  (1066-1087).  In  his  Hisl.  of 
Ike  Norman  Conquest  (4.  802  ff.).  Freeman  makes  no  mention 
of  the  second  oath-taking  at  St  Albans.  Either  Milton's 
memory  or  authority  was  at  fault  The  statement  is  repeated, 
however,  in  First  Def.  (Bohn  1. 163):  'When  he  broke  his 
word,  and  the  English  betook  themselves  again  to  their 
arms,  being  diffident  of  his  strength,  he  renewed  his  oath 
upon  the  Holy  Evangelists  to  observe  the  ancient  laws  of 
England.' 

17.  7.  Power  of  Ungt,  etc  No  utterance  in  this  pamphlet 
is  more  modem  in  tone  than  this  sentence.  Milton  maintains 
that  the  people  is  sovereign  by  a  fimdamental  and  unalterable 


N»us  tj 

law.  He  approaches  modem  utilitarian  theoriei  of  govern- 
ment, but  confusea  natural  and  positive  law.  All  talk  of 
natural  right  is  contradictory  to  artificial  Uw.  MUton  and 
all  political  theorists  of  his  day  were  at  one  in  counseling 
obedience  to  the  law  of  the  state.  The  source  of  law, 
whether  in  king  or  people,  was  the  point  at  issue.  See 
J.  N.  Figgis,  Divine  Right  of  Kings,  p.  241. 

12.  JO.    In  whom  the  power,  etc.    See  a  curious  argument 
to  the  contrary  in  Walker,  Hisl.  of  Indep,  2.  22,  note. 

12.  18.  Aristotle.  He  is  a  tyrant  who  regards  his  own 
welfare  and  profit  only,  and  not  that  of  the  people  (Ethics, 
Book  10).  The  definition  of  the  good  king  is  to  be  derived 
from  this.  Cf.  Aristotle's  definition  of  tyranny:  Tyranny  is 
just  that  arbitrary  power  of  an  individual  which  is  responsible 
to  no  one,  and  governs  aU  alike,  whether  equals  or  betters, 
with  a  view  to  its  own  advantage,  not  to  that  of  its  subjects, 
and  therefore  against  their  will '  (Politics  4. 10.  4). 
12.  17.  Sovran  Lord,  natoraU  Lord.  Kings  akd  nobles. 
12.  18.  Arroganciea.  or  flatteries.  These  tiUes  are  either 
assumed  because  of  pride,  or  bestowed  by  courtesy. 

12.  21.    TertnUlui.     Date  of  birth  and  death  unknown. 
It  is  conjectaired  that  he  was  bom  between  A,  D.  160  and 
160,  and  that  he  died  between  A.  D.  220  and  240.    He  was 
bom  at  Carthage.    He  was  the  first  of  the  great  Latin 
Fathers,  and  chief  among  them  in  vigor  of  style  and  acuteness 
of  mind.    He  was  the  first  to  create  a  technical  Christian 
Latinity,  and  is  known  almost  entirely  through  his  writings 
In  the  First  Def.  (Bohn  1.  80),  the  teaching  of  Tertullian 
here  referred  to  is  quoted  in  fiill. 
12.  24.    Against  the  advice,  etc.    See  1  Sam.  8. 
12.  28.    Wise  authors.     In  First  Def.  (Bohn  1. 82)  we 
have  it  on  the  authority  of  AristoUe  and  Cicero  'that  the 
people  of  Asia  easUy  submit  to  slavery,  but  the  Syrians  and 
the  Jews  are  even  bom  to  it  from  the  womb.' 

Milton  probably  first  met  this  idea  in  the  pages  of  Buchanan : 
•  For  as  the  nations  of  Asia  discover  greater  servUity  of  mind 
than  the  Europeans,  so  they  wiU  submit  with  greater  facUity 
to  the  commands  of  tyrante;  and,  hence  tiiere  is  not,  as  far 


m 


88 


The  Tenure  q/ Kings  and  Magistrates 


as  I  know,  mention  anywhere  made  in  hiitohans  of  a  kin^ 
nibject  to  laws  in  Asia '  (p.  163). 

12.  80.  ChattelL  See  Hotman,  Franco-GaUia,  p.  27,  who 
quotes  Pliny  to  this  effect 

12.  84.  Conrtaaie.  A  law-tenn.  An  estate  was  sometimes 
held  by  the  courttsy  of  England  or  of  Scotland.  Strictly 
speaking,  it  was  a  tenure  by  which  a  husband,  after  his 
wife's  death,  holds  certain  kinds  of  property  which  she  has 
inherited,  the  condition  varying  with  the  nature  of  the 
property. 

18.  1.  Oonvenienoe.  A  law-term.  A  written  agreement 
or  covenant. 

18.  6.  For  orimaa  proportionall.  The  modem  phrase 
would  be,  for  corresptmtUtig  crimes. 

18.  11.  Xinga  are  accountable  to  none  bnt  Ood.  The 
first  implication  of  the  theory  of  divine  right  Salmasius 
gathered  up  all  the  arguments  that  had  ever  been  adduced 
in  support  of  this  tenet.  He  defined  a  king  to  be  a  person 
in  whom  the  supreme  power  of  the  kingdom  resides,  who 
is  answerable  to  God  alone,  who  may  do  whatsoever  pleases 
him,  who  is  bound  by  no  law.  Milton's  lengthy  and  crushing 
reply  to  this  doctrine  is  to  be  found  in  the  second  chapter 
of  the  First  Def.  (Bohn  1.  30-60).  Even  Calvin  asserted 
that,  however  wicked  a  ruler  might  be,  he  was  responsible 
to  God  alone.  See  8. 12,  and  Calvin's  Institutes  4.  20.  80.  For 
an  exposition  of  Calvin's  teaching  on  this  point,  see  Gooch, 
Hist,  of  Democratic  Ideas  in  the  zyth  Cent.,  pp.  6ff. 

18.  18.  As  how  many  of  them  doe  not  This  phrase,  it 
would  seem,  was  intended  to  be  a  forceful  parenthesis. 
Proper  punctuation  would  give  this  reading :  '  For  if  the 
King  feare  not  God— as  how  many  of  them  doe  not?— we 
hold  then  our  lives  and  estates,*  etc. 

18.  23.  Those  Pagan  Caeaara,  that  deifl'd  themaelTsa. 
Early  in  the  reign  of  Augustus  the  Roman  Senate  deified 
the  defunct  Julius  Csesar.  Even  in  the  lifetime  of  Augustus 
the  cult  of  the  emperor  was  established,  temples  were  raised 
in  his  honor,  and  priests  and  rituals  dedicated  to  his  worship. 


Sues 


89 


1*.  8.  8m  Ft.  BL  4.  Hilton  object!  to  the  royaliit  inter- 
pf««tion  of  thi.  text  Of  .U  the  werting.  of  Scripture  in 
that  age  lurely  this  i,  the  *>«,  ctaaicus.  BecauK  David 
confe-ed  «n  only  against  God,  it  was  held  that  he  waa  not  ac 
connuble  to  his  subject  Uriah,  and  therefore  no  king  is  required 
to  answer  for  his  sins  to  his  people.  That  Milton  considered 
It  neeeasuy  to  meet  this  argument  shows  its  power  of  appeal 
even  to  serious  men  of  the  period.  Salmasius  dwelt  upon 
|t  and  m  F,r,t  Def.  (Bohn  1.  60),  MUton's  ample  treatmrat 
of  the  text  may  be  found. 

14.  8     Uriah.    Husband  of  Bathsheba.    See  2  Sam.  11. 

Adnltwate.  This  verb  is  not  used  in  MUton's  veise.  It 
was  probably  coined  by  him.  The  equivalent  phrase  is  to 
commil  aduUtry. 

14.  11.  See  Dent  17.  20  :■  That  his  heart  be  not  lifted  up 
abovij  his  brethren.'  *^ 

14.  18.  PatheticaU  word,  of  aPaOm.  Pathetical  means 
emotional  or  poetical.  Cf.  First  Dtf.  (Bohn  1.61):  'The 
words  of  a  Psalm  are  too  foil  of  poeto-,  and  this  Psalm  too 
foil  of  passion,  to  afford  us  any  exact  definitions  of  rieht 
and  justice.' 

14.22.  Euripidefc  (B.  C.  480-406).  The  passage  quoted 
IS  from  a  speech  by  King  Demophoon  in  the  Htraclida: 

«r.i.  ,       jf"""  '  "^^  ""'  here 
With  boundless  power,  like  a  barbarian  king: 
Let  but  my  deeds  be  just,  and  in  return 
anall  I  expenence  justice. 

MUton  himself  translates  the  passage  in  First  Def.  (Bohn 
1. 127):  ■!  do  not  exercise  a  tyrannical  power  over  them, 
M  if  they  were  barbarians:  I  am  upon  other  terms  with 
them;  but  if  I  do  them  justice,  they  wiU  do  me  the  like' 
Many  other  passages  from  the  Greek  poets  are  also  quoted 
in  the  same  chapter. 

14.  26.  Tr^an,  the  worthy  Emperor  (9»-117).  'More 
fortunate  than  Augustus,  and  better  than  Trajan'  was  a 
proverbial  expression  in  the  Uter  days  of  the  Roman  Empire. 


90  714*  TtHuri  of  Kings  and  Mapstralti 

14.  29.  Thua  IXoa  nlaU*.  Dio  Cusiiu  Cocceuunu  (b. 
158;  d.  ?)  A  cdebtated  hiatorian  who  published  a  Roman 
history  in  eighty  booka  The  atoiy  is  thus  translated  by 
H.  B.  Foster :—' Indeed  when  he  first  handed  to  him  who 
was  to  be  prefect  of  the  Prsetorians  the  sword  which  the 
latter  was  required  to  wear  by  his  side,  he  bared  the  blade, 
and  holding  it  up  said:  Take  this  sword,  to  the  end  that 
if  I  rule  well,  you  may  use  it  for  me.  but  if  ill,  against  me' 
(Cassius  Dio,  Roman  History  S.  196).  Buchanan,  in  his  Hist, 
of  Scotland,  trans,  by  John  Watkina  (1.  20.  601),  relates  this 
story. 

Grotius  also  uses  this  quotation,  but  says  that  Trajan 
wished  to  avoid  assuming  kingly  authority,  and  to  be  a 
true  governor  (Prinaps),  and  as  such  was  subject  to  the 
will  of  the  senate  and  people,  whose  commands  the  prefect 
was  to  execute  even  against  the  prince  (ZV  yorir  BtlU  tl 
Pads  1.  4.  8). 

14.  30.  Thaodoaina  the  Tonnger  (408-460).  An  amiable 
but  weak  ruler.  In  his  reign  and  that  of  Valentinian  m 
was  made  the  compilation  called  Codex  Theodosiamts.  It 
was  published  in  438,  and  consists  of  sixteen  books. 

Buchanan  ascribes  to  Theodosius  and  Valentinian,  whom 
he  praises  as  two  illustrious  emperors,  the  following  words; 
'It  is  an  expression  worthy  of  the  sovereign's  majesty, 
to  confess  that  the  prince  is  bound  by  the  laws.  And,  in 
reality,  the  imperial  dignity  is  exalted  by  subjecting  the 
prince's  power  to  the  laws;  and  that  we  announce,  by  the 
oracle  of  the  present  edict,  which  specifies  what  licence  we 
do  not  allow  to  another.  These  sentiments  were  sanctioned 
by  the  best  of  princes  and  caimot  but  be  obvious  to  the 
worst'  (Di  Jure  Regni,  p.  192).  Milton  probably  drew  his 
illustration  ft-om  this  source,  as  he  uses  the  phrase  one  ttf 
the  best  in  imitation  of  Buchanan.  No  doubt  Milton  also  read 
the  following  sentence  in  Buchanan's  Hist  of  Scot.  (1.  20. 
601) :  '  Even  Theodosius,  a  good  emperor  in  bad  times,  would 
have  it  left  recorded  amongst  his  sanctions  and  laws,  as  a 
speech  worthy  of  a  monarch,  and  greater  than  his  dominion 
itself,  to  confess,  that  he  was  inferior  to  the  laws.'    Cf.  First 


Notes  ,, 

flr/  (Bohn  1.  180):  .Iml«d  if  we  mu»t  believe  the  oracle, 
of  the  emperor  the™elve,,  for  «  «,me  Chmti.„  erapero™. 
«T^eodo«u,  and  Vale»  have  caUed  their  edict,  (cSd.  UU 
of  Ae  Uw       "'  '  ™'"""'  "'P*"'^  "P""  *" 

IS.  2.    Bemda..jr,t«anp..U.    Cf  £,*<w.  (Bohn  1.  488): 

For  .t  wa»  decreed  by  Theodosiu.,  and  stands  yet  finn  n 
the  code  of  Justinian,  that  the  law  i.  above  the  en,™ro" 
then  certainly  the  emperor  being  under  the  law,  thflaw 
may  judge  h™,  and  if  judge  him,  may  punish  him,  proving 
tyr«,no^:  how  else  „  the  law  above  him,  orto  what  purposed 

,1?'  Theodosian  code  of  laws  was  commenced  by  order 
of  ■n«odos,us  11  m  429,  and  published  for  the  eastern  empire 
m  488.  In  447  he  transmitted  to  Valentinian  his  new 
constitutions,  promulgated  as  the  law  of  the  West  in  448 
TT.e  celebrated  code  of  the  Emperor  Justinian  appeared  in 
629,  and  to  this  was  added  the  Digest,  the  Institutes  and  the 
Novels  m  634.  It  was  compiled  by  a  commission  appoired 
^  the  emperor,  and  was  a  compendium  of  statute  law 
^thered  from  two  thousand  volumes.  It  is  a  document  as 
much  med^val  as  ancient  in  tor.-.  Its  fundamental  idea 
s  that  of  a  umform  single  state  existing  on  a  Christian  basis. 
It  was  an  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  best  jurists  of  the 
Roman  Empire  to  combine  the  jus  civile,  a  body  of  rules 
pertaimng  to  the  property  and  f  mily  rights  of  Roman  citi- 
«ns  and  \hy us  gentium,  ^  .  ly  of  law  built  up  by  the 
prsrtors  ir   the  provinces  and  at^lying  to  non-citi^ens. 

16.3.  Juatinlu,  Cod,,.  Lib.  1.  tit.  24  is  as  follows: 
U)nsti,itiombus  pnncipum  continetur,  ut  pecunisL  qua  ex 
detnmento  solvitur,  usurae  non  prsstentur:  et  ita  impera- 
Wres  Antoninus  et  Verus  August!  rescripserunt  his  verbis- 
Humanum  est  reliquorum  usuras  neque  ab  ipso,  qui  ex 
admmistratione  honoris  reliquatus  est,  neque?  Sdejussore  ejus, 
et  multo  minus  a  magistratibus,  qui  cautioiem  acciperint 
exip^cu.  consequtns  est,  ut  ne  in  (uturum  a  forma  observat^ 


9» 


Tht  Tenure  of  Kings  an  J  Magistrates 


IS,  SS.  nuM  words  oonflnD*  lu.  etc  Filmer  criticiMs 
thif  Mntence  Kverely : '  But  ciui  the  foretelling  or  forewarning 
of  the  Intelitei  of  a  wanton  and  wicked  deaire  of  thein, 
which  God  hinuelf  condemned,  be  made  an  argument  that 
God  gave  or  granted  them  a  right  to  do  «uch  a  wicked 
thing  ? '  (Obatrvations  Comeming  the  Original  of  Govt.,  p,  20), 
See  Hooker,  Eccles.  Polity,  Book  8 :  '  Heaps  of  Scripture  are 
alledged,  concerning  the  solemn  coronation  or  inauguration 
of  Saul,  David,  Solomon  and  others,  by  nobles,  ancients, 
and  the  people  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Israel.' 

15.  88.    Diapleaad  him.     1  Sam.  8.  7. 

15.82.  Beaerr'd  to  himaelf  the  nomiitation.  Seel  Sam.  0. 
God  revealed  to  Samuel  Saul's  coming,  and  his  divine  ap- 
pointment to  the  kingdom.  Buchanan  also  discusses  the  de- 
position of  Samuel  and  the  answer  of  God  to  the  Israelites 
when  they  asked  for  a  king  (see  De  Jure,  p.  168). 

16.  2.  David  lint  made  a  Coynant  See  1  Chron.  11.  3; 
2  Sam.  6.  3.  Filmer  says:  'As  for  David's  covenant  with  the 
elders  when  he  was  anointed,  it  was  not  to  observe  any 
laws  or  conditions  made  by  the  people,  for  ought  appears ; 
but  to  keep  God's  laws  and  serve  him,  and  to  seek  the  good 
of  the  people,  as  they  were  to  protect  him '  (Concern.  Orig. 
of  Govt,  p.  22). 

16.  4.  Jehoiada.  See  2  Kings  11. 17.  The  covenant  be- 
tween Jehoiada  and  the  Israelites  was  the  model  set  up  in 
Vindicia  Contra  Tyrannos.  The  contract  between  Jehoiada 
and  the  people  was  made  with  Godj  on  the  divine  side 
protection  was  promised,  on  the  part  of  the  king  and  people 
maintenance  of  the  true  religion.  The  people  were  absolved 
from  allegiance  to  the  king  by  their  duties  to  God  the 
overlord,  if  the  king  should  violate  the  covenant  by  perse- 
cuting the  true  religion.  For  farther  treatment  of  this 
stock  incident  see  First  Def.  (Bohn  1.  46,  98,  96).  FUmer, 
in  an  ingenious  attempt  to  explain  away  a  troublesome 
piece  of  Scripture,  says:  'It  is  not  likely  the  king  should 
either  covenant,  or  take  any  oath  to  the  people  when  he 
was  but  seven  years  of  age,  and  that  never  any  king  of 
Israel  took  a  Coronation-oath  that  can  be  shewed:  when 


Noiei 


9.5 


with  them    (Cowfrw.  On^.  „/  Cavl,  p.  28). 

16  8^  Bobou,.  RehoboM,,  the  f«>li.h  ,on  < :  >  ,i,  on 
See  1  Kings  12.16.    The  text  is  not  quoted  in  fuu  here 

J^Ii",!  '^'•■f  """•"■  "^^  P'-P'"  "f  '"»«1  did  not 
wT^''^  .T"^  ^'""'''  ''«  '  ^">-  *•  '-«)•  His  sons  were 
Joel  and  Abiah.  'They  turned  aside  after  lucre,  and  Took 
bnbes,  and  perverted  judgment'  (1  Sam.  8.  8). 

16.20.  Livy.  TitusLiviiu(B.C.  89— A  D  17)  Th,  m«.. 
Er  "/p"^  «<!- writers' of  history.  He  LI^taT 
history  of  Rome  in  142  books,  from  the  foundaUon  of  the 
city  to  the  death  of  Drusus  {A.D.  9). 

TamninlM.    L.  TarquiniusSuperbus  (B.C.S34-510).    An 

tte  ollr"'  "IT''  "'"'  "'"""'■«'  '«'■'»  confen^^p^: 
the  plebeians  by  his  predecessors,  and  who  put  to  death  or 
drove  mto  exile  all  senator,  or  patricians  whom  he  dSed 
or  whose  wealth  he  wished  to  seize. 

16.22.  TfjoM.  Numa  Pompilius.  The  ideal  king  of  the 
eary  day,  o  Rome,  revered  by  the  Romans  as  t^auTor 
of  their  whole  religious  worship.     He  is  supposed  to  have 

reigned  fortythree  years.    In  the  opening  S^tences  of  hi! 

«cond  book,  Livy  alludes  to  the  expulsion  of  Tarquiniusa^d 

tiie  successful  insurrection  of  Brutus.   Cf.  the  treatment  of  tWs 

histoncal  example  in  First  Def.  (Bohn  1.  128). 

(BohnTssT''  '"'  '^  ''"°"'  "'  '^'"^''  "  ''"'  ""f- 
16  30.  (hreiag  the  thiag  him^lf.  i  Kings  12.  24.  For 
this  thing  IS  from  me.  God  countenance,  Z  insurrection 
of  the  people  agamst  a  tyrant.  A  telling  amiment  from 
Milton's  point  of  view.  gumeni  irom 

Not  by  Bingle  proTldenoe.  God  does  not  oppose  Rehoboam 
djrecUy,  but  by  the  use  of  secondaiy  agen,^';:rotam^ 
fte  insurtectiomst,  God  approve,  not  only  the  rebellion, 
out  the  occasion  also. 

17.3.    Tho«gniTe«idwiaeCooiueloni.    1  Kings  12. 6-8. 

12 


w. 


9+  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 

17.6.  Onr  old  grmy  headed  FUtterer*.  A  forceful  compar- 
ison. Charles  I  did  not  lack  advisers  who  urged  him  to 
stand  upon  his  prerogative,  maintain  divine  right,  and  scorn 
to  capitulate  to  the  rebel  parUament.  Some  of  the  older 
advisers  were  Lord  Jermyn,  Lord  Digby,  the  Earl  of  Holland, 
and  the  Marquis  of  Hamilton. 

17.  8.  Unleas  conditionally.  The  Israelites  regarded  the 
king's  tenure  as  jure  divino  only  on  condition  of  good 
behavior. 

17.  10.  Therfore  Kingdom  and  Uagiatracy,  etc.  Later 
editors  begin  a  new  paragraph  here.  In  this  and  the 
foUowing  paragraph  we  have  a  specimen  of  Milton  as  a 
wrester  of  texts.  He  is  making  an  ingenious  but  labored 
effort  to  combine  Petrine  and  Pauline  dicta  into  an  argument 
that  ChristUns  are  obliged  to  obey  only  those  magistrates 
who  use  their  power  to  good  ends. 

17.  11.  1  Peter  8. 18.  This  and  Rom.  13. 1  were  the  great 
New  Testament  texts,  always  quoted  by  royalists,  and  always 
explained  away  by  republican  writers.  Milton  is  here  follow- 
ing the  example  of  all  his  predecessors.  As  early  as  1658 
Christopher  Goodman  advanced  the  same  exegesis  in  his 
Haw  Superior  Powers  ought  to  it  Obeyed,  p.  114.  Milton 
expatiates  on  this  text  in  First  Def.  (Bohn  1.  68). 

17.  16.  Rom.  13.  1.  In  First  Def.  (Bohn  1.  68-73)  he 
spreads  his  exegesis  over  five  pages.  For  there  is  no  power 
but  of  God:  that  is,  no  form,  no  lawful  constitution  of  any 
government.  The  apostle  speaks  only  of  a  lawful  power. 
A  still  later  comment  is  to  be  found  in  his  Civ.  Power  m 
Eccles.  Causes  (Bohn  2.630,  531):  'The  apostle  in  this  place 
gives  no  judgment  or  coercive  power  to  magistrate,  neither 
to  those  then,  nor  these  now,  in  matters  of  religion.'  For 
a  dexterous  treatment  of  this  text  from  the  monarchical  point 
of  view,  see  Filmer,  Patriarcha,  p.  88. 

17.  19.    Else  it  oontradlota  Peter.    1  Peter  2.  IS. 
17.  21.    Els  wo  read  of  great  power,  etc.   In  his  exposition 
of  Rom.  18. 1,   Goodman  brings  forward  the  same  argument 
(Hirai  Superior  Powers  ought  to  be  Obeyed,  p.  110). 
17.  27.    The  thirteenth  of  the  BevoUtion.    Rev.  18.  2. 


Notes 


95 


18.  4.  Not  a  terror  to  the  good.  Cf.  Goodman:  'And 
that  the  Apostle  Paule  dothe  so  restrayne  his  wordes  to  all 
UwfiiU  powers,  we  nede  not  to  seke  far  of.  For  in  the  self 
same  Chap,  after  he  dothe  exponnH*  his  mynde:  that  is, 
what  powers  and  Magistrates  he  meai  ih:  Such  (saith  he) 
as  if  thou  doest  well,  thou  needest  not  to  feare,  but  if  thou 
doest  ever  {How  Sup.  Powers  ought  to  be  Obeyed,  p.  111). 

18.  6.  If  luch  onely,  etc.  A  new  paragraph  should  begin 
here. 

18.  13.  In  termes  not  conoret  but  abstract.  In  his  inter- 
pretation of  Rom.  13,  Chrysostom  makes  a  distinction  between 
authority  in  abstracto  and  in  comrelo.  The  apostle  says  noth- 
ing of  exceptions,  but  states  a  general  principle. 

Buchanan  provided  the  seed-thought  for  this  argument 
(De  Jure,  p.  166) :  '  Paul  therefore  does  not  treat  of  the 
magistrate  but  of  the  magistracy,  that  is  of  the  function  or 
duty  of  the  person  who  presides  over  others,  nor  of  this  or 
of  that  species  of  magistracy,  but  of  every  possible  form  of 
J  ^vemment.' 

18.  21.  ChrysoBtome.  An  eminent  Father  of  the  Church 
(847-407). 

Buchanan  cite-  the  opinion  of  Chrysostom,  quoting  this 
passage  fi-om  Homily  23 :  '  For  these  passages  of  Paul's  relate 
not  to  a  tyrant,  but  to  a  real  and  legitimate  sovereign,  who 
peisonates  a  genuine  God  upon  earth,  and  to  whom  resistance 
ii  certamly  resistance  to  the  ordinance  of  God '  {De  Jure,  p.  166). 

18.  21.  On  the  aame  place  diiaentg  not.  Chrysostom 
does  not  mention  the  word  tyrant  in  his  homily  on  Rom.  18. 
Compare  the  quotation  from  Chrysostom  in  the  First  Def. 
(Bohn  1.  69). 

18.  28.  Immediately  of  God.  Alluding  to  the  doctrine 
of  divine  right  See  The  True  Law  of  Free  Monarchies,  by 
James  I.  For  Charles  the  First's  views  on  this  question  see 
his  controversy  with  Rev.  Alex.  Henderson,  the  famous  Scotch 
preacher,  at  Newcastle,  as  related  by  Neale  (2.  27-30).  In 
First  Def.  (Bohn  1. 48)  Milton  expands  this  sentence  into  a  page. 

18.  80.  Onely  when  the  people  chose  them.  Filmer  boldly 
denies  that  the  Israelites  had  the  right  to  choose  their  kings, 


96 


The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 


and  cites  Hooker  in  support  of  his  statement  {Patriarcka, 
p.  48). 

18.  33.  ThA  cmitiag  down  of  Prinoei.  See  Job  12. 18, 
19,  21,  24  J  Ps.  2,  107.40!  149.8. 

19.  13.  Demerit.  That  which  is  merited,  especially  for 
ill  doing;  punishment  deserved. 

19.  13.  Thiu  farr  hath  bin  ooniidend.  A  summary  of 
the  argument.    He  has  laid  down  these  principles: 

1.  The  kingly  power  was  originally  in  the  people. 

2.  This  power  was  conferred  upon  kings  only  on  condition 
of  good  behavior. 

3.  The  people  retained  the  right  to  reassume  or  to  transfer 
it,  if  the  public  good  so  required. 

19.  22.  He  has  now  paved  the  way  for  his  definition  of 
a  tyrant. 

19.  27.  Thoa  St.  Basil.  See  Comnumplace  Book,  p.  31 : 
'And  Basil  distinguishes  a  tyrant  from  a  K.  briefly  thus, 
TOVTO  yitQ  ^laifiQti  Trpavrog  j3a0(ileojs  or*  o  (ttv  tit 
imxxov  xmniixo9fv  axojttl,  6  6(  t6  rots  aQxoiiivoti  <a<piXt- 
nov  ixxoQil,ei.  Tom.  i.  458.'  The  idea  that  a  tyrant  views 
as  his  own  that  which  comes  from  all  sources  is  also  the 
basis  of  Aristotle's  definition.  See  12. 18.  Buchanan  com- 
pares a  good  king  with  a  tyrant  in  the  following  phrase, 
following  Aristotle:  'For  the  one  exercises  his  power  for 
the  benefit  of  the  people,  and  the  other  for  his  own'  (/>< 
Jure,  p.  143).  Aristotle's  definition  has  also  filtered  through 
Thomas  Aquinas  to  Sir  John  Fortescue :  '  For  tyrant  (tyrannus) 
is  so  called  a  tyro,  that  is,  strong,  or  angustia,  as  though 
by  his  strength  straitening  his  subjects;  and  a  tyrant,  ac- 
cording to  St  Thomas  in  his  aforesaid  book,  Dt  Regimifu 
Princifmm,  is  a  prince  who  rules  for  his  own  pleasure,  and 
not  for  the  good  of  his  people '  ( Works  of  Sir  John  Fortescut, 
ed.  by  Lord  Clermont,  p.  220). 

Milton  quotes  St  Basil  for  his  definition  of  a  tyrant, 
but  he  could  not  range  any  definite  deliverances  of  the 
early  Fathers  on  his  side  of  the  controversy.  'Without  a 
single  exception,  all  who  touched  upon  the  subject  pronounced 
active  resistance  to  the  established  authorities  to  be  under 


Notes 


97 


all  circumstances  sinful.  If  the  law  enjoined  what  was  wrong, 
it  should  be  disobeyed,  but  no  vice  and  no  tyranny  could 
justify  revolt.  ...  So  harmonious  and  so  emphatic  are  the 
patristic  testimonies  on  this  subject,  that  the  later  theologi- 
ans who  adopted  other  views  have  been  utterly  unable  to 
adduce  any  passages  in  their  support '  (W.  E.  H.  Lecky,  Hist. 
of  the  Rise  and  Influence  of  Rationatism  in  Europe  2.  187). 
See  also  Grotius,  De  Jure  Belli  el  Pacts,  lib.  1.  cap.  4. 

After  criticizing  this  definition  severely,  Filmer  declares 
that  Milton  'doth  himself  give  as  little  regard  to  the  laws 
as  any  man.'  He  quotes  Milton's  phrase  '  t'leir  gibrish  laws,' 
and  'a  disputing  presidents,  forms  and  circumstances,'  to 
prove  that  the  hater  of  tyrants  is  Uke  a  tyrant  himself 
(Concern,  lite  Orig.  of  Govt,  p.  30  ff.).  Cf.  Milton's  own 
definition  of  a  tyrant  in  Afol.  Stnecl.  (Bohn  3. 163),  also  in 
Sec,  Def  (1.  224). 

49.  83.  Look  how  great  a  good,  etc.  This  comparison 
between  a  good  king  and  a  tyrant  is  worked  out  with  more 
detail  in  Sec.  Def.  (Bohn  1.  224).  In  his  De  Republica,  a  book 
which  was  diligently  read  by  Milton,  Jean  Bodin  draws  a 
comparison  between  a  tyrant  and  a  good  king  in  a  sentence 
over  fifty  lines  in  length  (p.  212). 

20.  1.  Ajfainat  whom  what  the  people  lawfUIy  may  doe, 
etc.  Tht  most  important  question  in  Milton's  day  was  this, 
'  Is  it  lawful  to  kill  a  tyrant  ? '  This  question  was  the  title 
of  a  chapter  in  the  celebrated  book  De  Rege  el  Regis 
JnstHttHone  by  M?.riana,  the  Spanish  Jesuit,  in  '  An  tyrannum 
opprimere  fas  sit'?  (Lib.  1,  Ch.  6.)  Mariana  approved  the 
assassination  of  Henry  III  of  France  by  the  young  Dominican, 
Clement  (li.  p.  69). 

Milton  follows  Bodin  m  the  course  of  his  thought.  See 
De  Republica  (Book  2,  chap.  4). 

20.  11.  Aa  thir  prime  Anthon  witnen.  For  a  full 
discussion  of  this  topic,  and  the  citation  of  Greek  and  Roman 
authors  in  praise  of  tyrannicide,  see  Appendix.  In  one  of  his 
earliest  prose  writmgs,  Apol.  Smecl.  (1642),  Milton  spoke  of 
'  those  exploits  of  highest  &me  in  poems  and  panegyrics  of 


9« 


The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magiilrales 


old,'  alluding  to  '  those  ancient  worthies  who  delivered  men 
from  tyrants.'    (Bohn  3. 147). 

20.13.    Btatoe*  and  garlands.    CfSa./^.  (Bohn  1.217). 

20.  17.  Seneca  the  Tragedian.  Seneca,  Lucius  AnnKus 
(circa4B.C.-66  A.D.).  The  famous  Stoic  philosopher.  His 
works  consist  of  treatises  and  epistles.  The  tragedies  ascribed 
to  him  are  of  doubtful  authenticity. 

Heronlea.  He  is  fabled  to  have  conducted  an  expedition 
of  vengeance  against  Laomedon,  tyrant  of  Troy.  Laomedon, 
with  all  his  sons  except  Podarces,  was  slain.  In  a  later 
struggle,  Hercules  liiUed  Theodamas,  king  ol  the  Dryopes. 

20.  19.  The  quotation  is  from  Seneca's  tragedy,  Hercules 
Furetis,  11.  922-924.  These  lines  are  also  quoted  in  First 
Def.  (Bohn  1. 131).  Jean  Gerson,  Chancellor  of  the  University 
of  Paris,  was  one  of  the  first  writers  on  political  theory 
to  quote  this  passage  from  Seneca. 

20.  28.  Among  the  Jews,  etc.  Milton  follows  the  example 
of  Buchanan,  who,  in  resorting  to  Scriptural  instances,  bluntly 
says:  'Let  us  examine  where  the  Scripture  grants  us  a  license 
to  murder  princes  with  impunity '  (De  Jure,  p.  170). 

20.  29.    Ehud.  Eglon.    See  Judges  3. 16-26. 

21.  1.    It  importa  not.    It  is  of  no  consequence. 

21.  4.  All  the  Covnants  and  Oaths.  Coronation  pledges. 
'  Nor  can  we  see  why  it  should  be  expected  a  new  Engage- 
ment could  prevail  on  them,  or  oblige  him  more  strongly 
to  the  Kingdom,  then  the  Solemn  Oaths  of  His  Coronation, 
ant  the  several  other  Vows,  Protestations,  and  Imprecations 
so  frequently  by  him  broken,  during  His  whole  reign,  and  so 
often  renewed  before  God  and  the  whole  worid.  Remind 
him  that  the  Articles  he  signed  with  thj  Scots  at  th?  close 
of  the  first  Pacification  he  disavowed  and  had  them  burnt 
by  the  Hangman  at  London'  (_A  Declarafim  of  the  Commons 
of  Eugland  touching  no  farther  Address  or  Application  to  be 
mode  to  the  King.    In  Civil  War  Tracts,  vol.  21,  Yale  Library). 

21.  8.  An  ontlandiah  King.  A  foreign  ruler.  Cf. '  What 
even  a  Solomon  did  for  Outlandish  Idolatrous  wives '  {Scrip- 
ture and  Reason,  etc.,  p.  72). 


Notes 


99 


28.  28.  Contampt  of  all  Law*  and  ParUments.  For  the 
relations  between  the  King  and  Parliament,  see  Green,  Short 
Hist.  Engl.  People,  chap.  8. 

21.  19.  A  boaated  prarogatiTe  nnaooonntable.  In  English 
constitutional  history  a  prerogative  means  a  prior,  exclusive, 
or  peculiar  right  or  privilege.  The  Stuarts  claimed  special 
preeminence,  by  right  of  regal  dignity,  over  all  persons,  a  so- 
vereign right  (in  theory)  subject  to  no  restrictions  or  inter- 
ference. This  assertion  of  unaccountability  to  Parliament  or 
people  was  of  course  hotly  contested  by  Milton  and  his  party. 
An  interesting  modem  survival  of  the  royal  prerogative  is 
the  right  of  the  king  of  Great  Britain  to  give  condemned 
murderers  a  reprieve.  Cf  Eikon.  (Bohn  1. 347) :  '  Those  fine 
flowers  of  the  crown,  called  prerogatives ';  ikid.  (Bohn  1. 414) : 
'  Mere  prerogatives,  the  toys  and  gewgaws  of  his  crown ' ; 
Sec.  Def.  (Bohn  1.  224). 

Two  expositions  hy  contemporary  writers  may  serve  to 
throw  more  light  on  this  elastic  word.  Thomas  Cary,  in  his 
Mem.  of  the  Great  Civil  War  in  Eng.  says  (Introd.,  p.  21) : 
'  What  then  if  he  (the  king)  shall  close  up,  by  this  prerog- 
ative, the  avenues  of  justice,  and  screen  the  offenders  from 
punishment,  so  perpetuating  abuses,  and  giving  wider  scope 
for  their  arbitrary  proceedings'? 

In  A  Political  Catechism,  printed  by  order  of  the  House 
of  Commons  in  1648  (p.  7),  we  read  that  the  king  claimed 
the  following  privileges  or  prerogatives:— 'Power  of  treaties 
of  war  and  peace,  of  making  Peers,  of  choosing  Officers,  and 
Councellours  for  State,  Judges  for  Law,  Commanders  for  Forts 
and  Castles;  giving  Commissions  for  raising  men  to  make 
Warre  abroad,  or  to  prevent  or  provide  against  invasions 
and  insurrections  at  home,  benefit  of  Confiscations,  power  of 
pardoning  and  some  other  like  kinds  are  placed  in  the  king.' 

Towards  the  close  of  the  century  John  Locke  defined 
prerogative  as  'That  measure  of  power  which  the  nation 
concedes  to  its  ruler,  and  the  nation  may  either  extend  or 
restrict  it'  (Treatise  oh  Civil  Government,  chap.  18). 

21.20.  After  aev'n  yetn  warring.  The  Civil  War  (1642- 
1649). 


100  Tht  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 

21.  21.  Orarcom.  taA  yeiUad  priionar.  Alarmed  by  the 
march  of  Fairfax,  the  king  escaped  from  Oxford  in  May,  1648, 
and  voluntarily  placed  himself  in  the  hands  of  the  Scotch 
army-leaden  in  the  camp  near  NewcasUe.  He  was  regarded 
by  the  Scots  as  their  prisoner. 

21.  22.    In  reapwt  of  whom.    By  whose  instrumentality. 

21.  26.  Crying  for  vengeance,  tt  was  a  widespread 
belief  among  ancient  peoples  that  the  ghost  of  a  murdered 
man,  whose  body  lay  unboned,  could  not  find  rest  untU 
interment  had  taken  place.  ReUtives  of  the  dead  were 
visited  by  the  unhappy  spirit,  and  made  aware  of  their  duty. 
It  was  considered  not  only  as  an  impious  dereliction  of  duty, 
but  as  a  provocation  to  the  spirit-world,  to  deny  such  a 
request.  The  voice  of  Abel's  blood  crying  firom  the  ground 
for  vengeance  upon  Cain  is  a  familiar  instance. 

In  Milton's  time.  Carcass  was  employed  in  the  same  sense 
as  corpse. 

21.  27.  Who  knows  not,  etc.  It  is  necessary  to  go  back 
to  the  beginning  of  the  previous  long  sentence  to  retain  the 
sequences  of  thought. 

In  respect  of  whom.    In  comparison  with. 

21.  28.  To  the  second  (argument).  See  23.  8.  Ehud,  so 
the  royaUsts  declared,  was  (1)  a  foreign  prince,  (2)  an  enemy, 
and  (3)  Ehud,  besides,  had  special  warrant  from  God. 

22.  20.  Eglon.  The  king  of  Moab.  See  Judges  3. 14: 
•  So  the  chUdren  of  Israel  served  Eglon  the  king  of  Moab 
eighteen  years.' 

22.  22.  'WiUiam  the  Conqueror.  Reigned  twenty-one 
years  (1066-1087). 

22.  24.  Oaths  of  Fealty  and  Allegeance.  The  oath  of 
feaify  was  a  practice  of  the  age  of  feudalism  by  which  a 
vassal  took  an  obUgation,  caUed  fidelitas,  or  fealty,  to  his 
lord.  The  nobles  also  took  a  similar  pledge  to  a  new-made 
king. 

Allegiance  was  the  relation  or  duties  of  a  liege-mao  to 
hU  Uege-lord.    We  stiU  speak  of  the  oath  of  aUegiance, 


Notes  101 

referring  to  the  obligation  of  a  subject  to  his  sovereign  or 
government. 

22.  26.  Honugs  and  pivaent.  In  feudal  law  homage  waa 
the  formal  and  public  acknowledgment  of  allegiance,  wherein 
a  tenant  or  vassal  declared  himself  a  man  of  the  king  or 
lord  of  whom  he  held,  and  bound  himself  to  his  service. 
Homage  wa.s  usually  rendered  annually,  and  was  expressed 
by  a  money-payment,  a  present,  or  some  kind  of  personal 
service. 

The  present  sent  by  Ehud  to  Eglon  was  probably  a  money- 
payment.    Judges  8.  16. 

22.  27.    The  third  argument  is  now  taken  up.    See  25. 10. 

22.  29.  Bsyad  by  Ood  to  ha  a  Deliverer.  Milton  draws 
a  delicate  distinction  between  a  tyrant-killer  with  a  special 
warrant,  and  one  raised  by  God  to  be  a  deliverer. 

22.  34.  Agag.  See  1  Sam.  16.  33.  Next  to  the  deed  of 
Ehud,  the  republican  writers  prized  the  story  of  Samuel's 
killing  of  Agag. 

A  forren  enemie  no  doubt.  A  sarcastic  reference  to  the 
quibble  discussed  above.  See  23.  9.  Dr.  Gauden  wisely 
remarks :  '  For  that  of  Samuel's  severity  against  Agag,  you 
know  that  neither  is  the  King  an  Agag  to  you,  nor  you  as 
Samuel  to  him '  (Religious  and  Loyal  Protestation,  p.  7). 

23.  1.    Aa  thy  iword,  etc.    1  Sam.  15.  33. 

23.  7.  Jehoram.  A  son  of  Ahab,  slain  by  Jehu.  See  2 
Kings  9.  24.    Cf.  First  Def.  (Bohn  1.  96). 

23.  8.    Imitable.    Deserving  of  imitation. 

23.  16.  David  reftaa'd  to  lift  hia  hand.  Milton  follows 
Chris.  Goodman  and  others  in  this  interpretation.  Goodman 
says:  'This  beinge  then  David's  owne  private  cause,  it 
was  not  lawhill  for  him  in  that  case  to  seke  his  owne 
revengement :  especially  in  murtheringe  violently  his  anoyn- 
ted  kinge,  and  the  anoynted  of  the  Lorde.  For  it  is  not 
written  of  Saule,  that  he  was  an  idolatrer  or  constrayned 
his  people  to  worshippe  stronge  Godes'  (Horn  Superior 
Powers  ought  to  be  Obeyed,  p.  189).  Cf.  First  Def.  (Bohn 
1.  90).  In  Eihon.  (1.  486)  three  diSferent  meanings  of  the 
phrase  are  stated.    On  Milton's  use  of  Scripture  see  Introd. 


ill 
If 


102  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 

28.  17.  The  nutter  between  them  wm  not  tjniiny.  The 
implication  is  that  Saul  was  a  tyrant.  RoyaUat  writers 
insisted  that  Saul  was  no  tyrant:  Saul  lost  his  kingdom,  but 
not  for  being  cruel  or  tyrannical  to  his  subjects,  but  by 
being  too  merciful  to  his  enemies  (Filmer,  Palriarcha, 
pp.84ff). 

23.  24.  To  Chrlitian  timei.  The  points  raised  here  are 
all  developed  and  enlarged  in  First  DeJ.  (Bohn  1.  60  if.). 
Salmasius  advanced  the  following  arguments  in  favor  of  the 
theory  of  divine  right:  (1)  Christ  himself  suffered  the  assaults 
ot  tyrants  without  resistance  i  (2)  Render  unto  Caesar,  etc. 
Luke  20. 28 ;  (3)  The  princes  of  the  Gentiles  exercise  lordship, 
etc.  Mk.  10.  .12 ;  (4)  Peter's  dictum,  1  Pet.  2.  13 ;  (6)  Paul's 
dictum,  Rom.  18. 1.  In  this  paragraph,  Milton  deals  with 
only  one  of  the  above  points.  The  opening  sentence  of  the 
paragraph  would  lead  us  to  expect  an  exhaustive  treatment 
of  the  New  Testament  field.    See,lntrod. 

23.  30.  Benefactor*.  See  Luke  22.  25 ;  'They  that  exercise 
authority  upon  them  are  called  benefactors.' 

24.  2.  They  that  eeem  to  rule.  The  meaning  of  Jesus 
in  Matt.  20.  25,  and  its  parallels,  Mk.  10.  42  and  Luke  22.  26, 
is  forced  here.  Jesus  said  nothing  in  criticism  of  the  Gentile 
rule.  He  was  simply  using  it  as  an  illustration.  Milton 
makes  much  of  the  phrase  in  Mark  10. 42,  oX  doxovvris  a<>x«»'. 
those  who  are  reputed  to  rule,  who  have  the  title  of  rulers. 
There  may  be  an  insinuation  here  that  the  Gentile  rulers 
are  not  really  those  who  rule,  that  God  is  the  supreme  ruler, 
but  it  is  very  questionable  if  Jesus  had  any  other  end  in 
view  than  to  contrast  his  kingdom  of  humility  and  service 
with  the  kingdom  of  the  Roman  world.  If  we  press  the 
criticism  of  Gcrtilism,  his  own  parallel  breaks  down. 

The  argument  is  presented  with  much  greater  cogency  in 
First  Def.  (Bohn  1.  66). 

24.  8.    That  fox.    See  Luke  18.  32.    Herod  Antipas. 

24.  10.    In  her  profetic  aong.    See  Luke  1.52. 

24.11.  Dynaata'soT  proud Monarohs.  'He  hath  put  down 
the  mighty  from  their  seats,  and  exalted  them  of  low  degree.' 


Notes 


103 


The  word  lued  by  Milton  is  the  Smattxttt  of  the  Greek 
version.  See  also  Acts  8. 27,  for  the  use  of  this  word.  There 
iwdartii  is  translated,  'a  man  uf  authority.' 

24.  16.  A  new  paragraph  should  begin  here.  This  is  the 
author's  point  of  departure  from  the  New  Testament  argument. 

24.  17.  Both  hata  and  fear,  etc.  He  began  his  pamphlet 
with  this  assertion.    See  1. 18. 

24.  18.  The  trae  Church.  An  ambiguous  phrase  to  Milton's 
readers. 

24.  19.  Snbverten  of  Monarchy,  though  indeed  of  tyranny. 
A  somewhat  obscure  statement.  Tyrants  call  the  true  church 
and  saints  of  God  (Milton  and  his  party)  enemies  and  sub- 
verters  of  monarchy,  but  they  are  not  really  so :  they  oppose 
not  monarchy,  not  good  kings,  but  tyranny. 

24.  21.  The  perpetual  cry  ofConrtiers,  and  Ooort  Prel- 
ate*. From  the  days  of  Queen  Elizabeth  the  court-party 
had  been  jealous  of  the  growing  power  of  the  Puritans.  In 
the  first  year  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  reign  all  preaching  was 
forbidden  for  a  time.  Marsden  says  that  the  mischievous 
introduction  of  state-affairs  into  the  popular  harangues  of 
the  sectaries  seemed  to  the  queen  to  threaten  the  safety  of 
the  country  and  the  stability  of  her  throne  (Hist,  of  Early 
J^ritatts,  p.  103).  The  queen's  subsequent  severe  policy 
towards  the  Puritans,  and  the  establishment  of  the  Court  of 
High  Commission  by  her  at  Archbishop  Whitgift's  suggestion, 
bear  out  Milton's  assertion.  '  No  bishop,  no  king  I '  was  the 
adage  of  King  James  1,  when  he  mounted  the  throne  of 
England.  He  and  the  prelates  made  common  cause  against 
the  forces  of  Puritanism.  In  the  ecclesiastical  fabric  of 
Calvinism,  in  its  organization  of  the  church,  in  its  annual 
assemblies,  in  its  pubUc  discussion  and  criticism  of  acts  of 
government  through  the  pulpit,  he  saw  an  organized  democ- 
racy which  threatened  his  crown.  'The  new  force  which 
had  overthrown  episcopacy  in  Scotland,  was  a  force  which 
might  overthrow  the  monarchy  itself'  (Green,  S/wrl  Htsl. 
Eng.  People,  chap.  8). 

25.  16.   St.  Edvard.  Edward  the  Confessor  (1004(?)-1066). 

26.  16.    Earle  of  the  FaUce,  etc.    See  Commonplace  Boot, 


I'Ff 


M 


104  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 

p.  39.  'An  office  to  correct  the  King.  The  Earl  rf  Chester 
bare  the  sword  of  St  Edward  before  the  K.  in  token  that 
he  was  Earle  of  the  Palace,  and  had  authority  to  correct 
the  K.  if  he  should  see  him  swerve  from  the  limits  of  justice. 
Holinsh.  Hen.  8.  219 ;  this  sword  is  called  by  Speed  Curtana, 
p.  608,  Rich.  2.'  The  reference  to  Holinshed  is  untrustworthy. 
See  Chronicles  2.  841,  849.  For  the  reference  to  Rich,  and  U, 
see  John  Speed,  Hist,  of  Gr.  Britain,  p.  728.  Cf.  First  Def. 
(Bohn  1. 174). 

Some  of  the  most  interesting  passages  in  such  chronicles 
as  those  of  Roger  de  Wendover  and  Matthew  Paris  are  the 
descriptions  of  coronation-proceedings. 

24.18.  Katthew  Pari!  (1200(?)-1259).  Monk  of  St.  Albans. 
In  1236  Matthew  succeeded  Roger  of  Wendover  as  chronicler 
of  the  convent,  carrying  on  the  Chronica  Major  to  the  year 
of  his  death.  Milton's  eulogy  is  confirmed  by  modem 
historians.  *  In  vigour  and  brightness  of  expression  he  stands 
before  every  other  English  chronicler,  and  in  these  respects 
his  writing  is  in  striking  contrast  to  that  of  his  immediate 
predecessor,  Roger  de  Wendover '  (Diet.  Nat.  Biog.). 

24.  24.  The  very  diacipUne  of  Church.  The  discipline 
of  the  Presbyterian  and  Independent  churches  was  framed 
on  democratic  principles.  Each  member  had  a  voice  in 
calling  or  deposing  a  minister,  and  in  electing  officials;  all 
members  were  on  a  footing  of  equality,  even  the  minister  in 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  although  moderator  of  the  session, 
was  called  simply  a  ruling  elder.  Universal  suffrage  has 
always  obtained  in  the  nonconformist  churches. 

24.31.  LudOTictuPiua.  Lewis  the  Pious,  Prankish  emperor 
(814—840).    A  weak  but  thoroughly  conscientious  ruler. 

26.  1.    Charle*  the  Gnat  (742-814). 

Da  Haillan.  Bernard  de  Gerard,  Seigneur  du  Haillan 
(1685-1616).  After  a  successful  diplomatic  and  literary  career, 
he  was  made  counsellor  of  Charles  IX,  and  historiographer  of 
France.  His  most  important  work  was  his  Hisloire  GMrak 
des  Rots  de  France  (1676).  Du  Haillan  criticised  the  methods 
of  the  chroniclers,  and  attempted  to  write  a  history  after  the 
manner  of  the  ancients  and  the  Italians.    He  discarded  a  vast 


Notts 


105 


number  of  legendi,  but  retained  the  trick  of  majiiiig  ipeeches 
for  hii  characten. 

The  quoution  wai  tranaferred  from  the  Commonpha  Book 
(p.  81):  'Ludovicus  Piua,  being  made  judge  of  a  certain 
German  tyrant,  approves  the  people  who  had  depcu't  him 
and  acta  hit  younger  brother  up  in  hia  stead.  Gerard,  Hisl. 
FratKt,  1.  4,  p.  248.'  See  also  entry  in  Commonplact  Book, 
p.  27:  'The  cause  and  reason  of  creating  Kings,  see  well 
express'd  in  Haillan,  Hisl.  Frame,  1.  18,  p.  719.' 

26.  2.  Milegaat.  A  king  of  the  Vultzes  or  Wiltzi,  a  Sla- 
vonic tribe  who  lived  east  of  the  Elbe,  in  the  district  now 
known  as  Prussia.  They  were  originally  conquered  by 
Charlemagne. 

28.  9.    Constantiniu  Leo.     Leo  the  laaurian   (717-740). 

%.  10.  Tha  Byntntiiie  Lawa.  The  emperor  Leo  was 
responsible  for  a  revision  of  the  Justinian  Code,  which  in  his 
time  had  become  unintelligible.  It  was  abridged  and  trans- 
lated, in  order  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  needs  and 
customs  of  later  times.  Basil  I  (887-886),  in  his  turn,  made 
another  revision  of  the  Justinian  Code,  which  superseded  the 
Ecloga  of  Leo  the  Isaurian.  In  the  Conmumplace  Book  (p.  26), 
Milton  quotes  Leo  from  the  Byzantine  laws  as  they  were 
finally  arranged  by  Basil  I :  '  Officium  et  definitio  impcratoris 
egregia  est:  Jus  Graeco-Romanum,  1.  2,  p.  178,  ex  Ub.  de 
jure  qui  est  Basil.  Const..nt.  Leonis  ubi  ait  rikoi  rm  ^aaiM 
tA  lieoylttlv  xai  r;i>ixo  rfjs  tiifrialai  fjtaov^atj  toxii 
xi^i^ltittv  Tor  fiaaiXixiv  xopaXTW"' 

2S.  19.  To  mind  them,  laith  Matthew  Paris.  In  his  ac- 
count of  the  ceremonies  at  the  marriage  of  Henry  III  to 
Eleai  or,  daughter  of  the  Count  of  Provence,  Matthew  Paris 
says;  'The  nobles,  too,  performed  the  duties,  which  by 
ancient  right  and  custom,  pertained  to  them  at  the  coronation 
of  kings.  In  like  manner  some  of  the  inhabitants  nf  certain 
cities  discharged  certain  duties  which  belonged  to  ihem  by 
tight  of  their  ancestors.  The  Earl  of  Chester  carried  the 
sword  of  St  Edward,  which  was  called  Curtein,  before  the 
ki:ig,  as  a  sign  that  he  was  earl  of  the  palace,  and  liad  by 


■o6  The  Tenure  c/ Kings  and  Magislraies 

right  the  power  of  retraining  the  liing  if  he  •hould  commit 
an  error  (Matthew  Paria,  Exg'"''  History,  trana.  J.  A.  Gilea, 

1  9) 

28  88  Onr  andant  hooka  of  Uw.  Milton  givea  aa  hia 
legal  authority,  in  Firt  Def.  (Bohn  1. 178),  the  Mirror  ^ 
jMHct.  '  In  thia  book,'  he  aayi, '  we  are  told,  that  theSaaona, 
when  they  firat  aubdued  the  Britona,  and  choae  themaelve. 
kinga,  required  an  oath  of  them,  to  aubmit  to  the  judgment 
of  the  law,  ai  much  aa  any  of  their  aubjecta,  cap.  I  sect.  2. 
In  the  aame  pUce  it  ia  aaid,  that  it  ia  but  just  that  the  king 
have  hia  peera  in  parliament,  to  take  cognizance  of  wrongs 
done  by  the  king,  or  the  queen.'  Cf.  Ralph  Sadler,  Rights 
cf  the  Kingdom,  pp.  24  ff-  ,  ■       ■    i 

26  27     Hia  Peer^  or  aqiula.    Par,  an  equal  m  civU 
atanding  or  rank-,  one'a  equal  before  the  Uw.    A  celebrated 
use  of  the  word  occurs  in  Magna  Charta  21:  'Earls  and 
barona  are  not  to  be  punished  ocept  by  their  peers  (niai 
per  parea  suos).'    In  its  titular  meaning,  the  word  peer  means 
kmember  of  one  of  the  degrees  of  nobility  in  the  United 
Kingdom-a  duke,  marquis,  earl,  viscount,  or  baron.    Nobles 
or  magnates  had  a  special  privilege  of  having  access  to  the 
king  at  all  times.    MUton's  contention  that  they  had  a  legal 
right  to  judge  the  king  is  opposed  by  Bishop  Stubbs,  who 
declares:  'The  English  lords  do  not  answer  to  the  nobles  of 
France,  or  to  the  princes  or  counts  of  Germany,  because  m 
our  system  the  theory  of  nobUity  of  blood  as  conveying 
political  privilege  has  no  legal  recognition.    The  nobleman 
is  the  person  who  for  his  life  holds  the  herediury  ofhce 
denoted  or  implied  in  his  title.    The  tew  gives  to  his  chUdren 
and  kinsmen  no  privilege  which  it  does  not  give  to  the 
ordinary  freeman,  unless  we  regard  certain  acts  of  courtesy, 
which  the  law  has  recogniaed,  as  implying  privilege.  . . . 
The  English  tew  does  not  regard  the  man  of  most  ancient 
and  purest  descent  as  entitled  thereby  to  any  right  or  pnv- 
aege  which  is  not  shared  by  every  freeman'  (ConsHL  Hist, 
of  Eng.  2. 176,  177). 

Hotman  devotes  a  chapter  in  FnuKo-GaUia  (p.  97ff.)  to  a 
discussion  of  the  origin  of  constables  and  peers.    He  thinks 


Nous 


107 


that  King  Arthur  fint  appointed  twelve  great  men  a<  peers, 
but  does  not  agree  that  they  were  pans  ngi.  See  also 
First  Dtf.  (Bohn  1.  178). 

28.  81.  Judf*  Um  highaat.  On  the  right  of  the  parliament 
to  judge  the  king,  see  the  elaborate  argument  in  Fint  Dtf. 
(Bohn  1. 171  ff.).  That  the  will  of  the  monarch  should  have 
the  force  of  law  was  wholly  inconsistent  with  the  forms  and 
theories  of  English  leg<~'  ri  ^i.  Glanvil  and  Bracton  lay  it 
down  in  the  strongPM  ,tr-ns  that  tliu  king,  while  subject 
to  no  man,  is  always  sulijc  t  to  l.tvi.  (sei  Hallam,  MuUlf 
Agts  2.  334,  335).  :<i  Ki'v^.il  Cok.  in  ihi'  eign  of  James  I, 
set  up  the  doctri  e  iii:it  'he  convnon  t.iv  ivas  above  the 
king. 

28.  88.  Dukes.  Eark-  and  Jlsrquasi-'.  ;e  Comnumphct 
Book,  p.  38:  Ldke.s,  L  j  tit.^  M.i.(ije?e.s,  etc.  were  not 
hereditarj'  at  fa^\,  L.-.t  ci  ly  p.-iccr  oi  fjovernment  and  oftice 
in  the  time  of  Cliarh  i.  ihe  ireai.  Gerard,  Hist.  Franc* 
1. 3,  p.  188 ;  I.  6,  416.  and  so  c  i-tii'u  .1  .  ithout  much  difference 
between  gentlemen  ami  n  1  u:  -ill  the  time  of  Charles  the 
Simple,  about  the  year  90U,  wiien  this  corruption  (for  so  the 
historian  calls  it,  though  himself  a  french  lord)  took  beginning, 
and  receiv'd  accomplishment  afterward  in  the  time  of  Hugh 
Capet.  Gerard,  Hist.  France,  6,  p,  818 :  taking  example  from 
his  usurpation,  they  made  themselves  proprietaries  of  those 
counties  and  dukedomes  which  they  had  as  offices,  not 
inheritances,  idem,  I.  6,  329,  330,  except  those  who  were 
natural  lords,  as  of  Normandy,  Toulouse,  Flanders,  etc.  idem, 
p.  333.' 

26.  33.  At  tint  not  hereditarj,  etc.  Modem  authorities 
are  dispo.sed  to  accept  this  view.  Cf.  Goldwin  Smith,  The 
United  Kingdom  1.  29. 

26.  3.  Parlamant.  Hotman  is  one  of  the  earliest  writers 
to  define  this  word:  'Now  the  word  Parliament  in  the  old 
manner  of  Speech  used  by  our  Countrymen  signifies  a  Debate, 
or  discoursing  together  of  many  Persons,  who  come  from 
several  Parts,  and  assemble  in  a  certain  Place,  that  they  may 
communicate  to  one  another  Matters  relating  to  the  Publick ' 
(Franco-Gallia,  p.  139). 


1^ 


io8  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 

Bvon.  The  word  a  thus  defined  by  Goldwin  Smith: 
'  AU  tenants-in-chief  were  barons,  a  name  of  which  the  origin 
U  uncertain;  but  the  meaning  probably  is  man  of  the  king i 
a  free  man,  perhaps,  in  contrast  to  the  serf'  {JhtUmUi 
Kingdom  1.  29).  Milton  probably  got  this  idea  from  Hotman, 
Frmco-Oallia.  p.  146:  'Budaeus  writes  that  PhUip  the  Fair 
appointed,  that  three  Sorts  of  People  shou'd  sit  in  Parliament, 
viz.  Prelates,  Barons,  and  Clerks  miied  with  Laymen.  Cf. 
First  Dtf.  (Bohn  1. 167). 

26  6  CaToata.  A  caveat  is  a  process  in  court  to  suspend 
proceedings;  a  notice  given  by  some  party  to  the  proper 
officer  not  to  take  a  certain  step  until  the  party  giving  the 
notice  has  been  heard  in  opposition.  Here  warnings  or  cautions. 
26.  8.  Circomatantial  men.  Those  who  have  regard  to 
petty  caveats  and  circumstances. 

26.  9.    Our  ancestors  who  were  not  ignorant.    Cf.  first 
Def.  (Bohn  1.  172  tf.). 

26  11  At  Coronation.  On  the  King's  coronation  oath, 
and  his  obUgation  to  observe  it,  see  Eikon.  (Bohn  1.  364). 
And  iwiewd  in  Parlament.  See  Commonplace  Book,  p.  25 : 
•K  Rich  .he  2  also  renew'd  his  oath  in  parUament  time  m 
the  church  at  We.,  nin.  Stow,  an.  reg.  11.  Richard  the  1. 
HoUnsh.  p.  118,  at  large.'  'The  third  day  of  June,  the  K. 
in  the  Church  of  Westminster  renued  the  oth,  which  hee 
toke  when  he  was  crowned,  and  all  the  Lords  sware  homage 
and  fealtie  to  him '  Qohn  Stow,  Annates  or  a  General  Chronicle 
of  England  p.  304).  The  reference  to  Richard  I  is  in  Hohns- 
hed,  Chron.  2.  240. 

26.16.  Bichard  the  aeoond  (1877-1899).  By  the  removal 
of  Richard,  parliament  made  a  precedent  for  after-times,  not 
only  for  the  deposing  of  Charles  I,  but  ahio  of  James  U.  Further 
mention  is  made  of  Richard  11  in  the  Commonplace  Book,  p.  81 : 
•  Of  the  deposing  of  a  tirant  and  preceding  against  him. 
Richard  the  2nd  was  not  only  depos'd  by  parliament,  but 
sute  made  by  the  commons  that  he  might  have  judgement 
decreed  against  him  to  avoid  furder  mischeif  in  the  realm. 
Holinsh.  612'  (Holinshed  2.  869);  'Richard  the  2  in  his  21 


Notes 


109 


yeare  holding  a  violent  parlament  shortei.'d  hU  days :  see 
in  Slo.  the  violency  of  that  pari.  See  other  tyrannical!  acts 
an.  22;  and  of  his  pari.  Holinsh.  490.'  The  references  are 
to  John  Stow,  AnnaUs,  or  a  Glwral  CkromcU  of  Engl., 
pp.  316  ff.  and  to  R.  Holinshed,  Chron.  2.  839  ff.  Also  p.  29: 
'  To  say  that  the  lives  and  goods  of  the  subjects  are  in  the 
hands  of  the  K.  and  at  his  disposition  is  an  article  against 
Ri.  II.  in  Pari.,  a  thing  ther  said  to  be  most  tyrannous  and 
unpnncely.    Holinsh.  603  '  (2.  861). 

26.  18.  Peter  Martyr  Termigli  (1600-1662).  Pietro 
Martire  Vermigli.  Bom  in  Florence,  Vermigli  became  a 
scholar  of  the  cloisters.  At  the  age  of  27  he  had  acquired 
such  a  reputation  for  learning  that  he  became  a  public 
preacher  at  Rome.  He  also  lectured  on  Scripture  in  various 
convents  of  the  Augustinian  order  throughout  Italy.  Influenced 
by  the  writings  of  Bucer  and  Zwingli,  he  imbibed  Protestant 
doctrines,  and  was  obliged  to  flee  fi-om  Italy.  Eventually, 
on  Cranmer's  invitation,  he  went  to  England,  and  in  1648 
became  professor  of  divinity  at  Oxford.  Later  he  was 
professor  of  Hebrew  at  Zurich.  Vermigli  was  a  voluminous 
expositor  and  author. 

See  Commonplace  Book,  p.  82 :  '  Petrus  Martyr  in  3  c.  lud. 
eis  qui  potestatem  superiorem  eligunt  certi.sque  legibus 
reipub.  praficiunt,  ut  hodie  electores  imperii  etc.  licere,  si 
princeps  pactis,  et  promissis  non  steterit,  eum  in  ordinem 
cogere  ac  vi  adigere,  ut  conditiones  et  pacta  qua;  ftierat 
poUicitus,  compleat,  idque  vel  armis  cum  aliter  fieri  non 
possit:  citetque  authorem  Polydorum  nostros  homines  ali- 
quando  suos  reges  compulisse  ad  rationem  reddendam 
pecuniie  male  administratse.' 

Milton  refers  to  a  disquisition  entitled,  '  An  subditis  liceat 
contra  suos  principes  insurgere.'  After  noting  the  commands 
of  Peter  and  Paul  not  to  resist  superior  powers,  the  fate  of 
Zedekiah  and  his  people  because  they  rebelled  against 
Nebuchadnezzar,  how  David  spared  Saul,  the  Lord's  anointed, 
and  how  the  early  Christians,  even  when  they  were  armed, 
obeyed  the  cruel  tyrant  Julian  the  Apostate,  Martyr  dtes  a 
number  of  instances  where  rulers  have  been  forced  to  keep 


il 

if 

% 


I 


1 10  The  Tenure  cf  Kings  and  Magiitrates 

their  promises  to  govern  justly.  The  Romans  and  the  Danes 
toolt  such  violent  measures,  as  weU  as  the  English  against  their 
kings.  The  Romans  even  deposed  Tarquinius  Superbus. 
Martyr  says  he  wUl  not  refer  to  Brutus  and  Cassius,  because 
men  are  divided  respecting  the  justice  of  their  cause.  He 
concludes  that,  although  it  is  fitting  for  magistrates  to  move 
against  princes,  the  private  citizen  is  not  to  have  the  same 
privilege  (/»  librum  Judiatm  commenlarii  Petri  Martyris 
VermiUii,  p.  56). 

26.  19.  Sir  ThomM  Smith  (1513-1577).  A  typical  Eliza- 
bethan in  the  wide  range  of  his  activities.  At  the  age  of 
twenty  he  was  appointed  public  reader  or  professor  at 
Cambridge.  Ten  years  later  he  became  professor  of  civil 
Uw.  In  addition  to  his  college  work,  he  took  a  prominent 
part  in  religous  affairs  of  the  kingdom,  being  a  strong 
Protestant.  He  was  also  at  various  times  member  of  parliament 
and  diplomatist.  Under  Elizabath  he  became  ambassador 
to  France  in  1562.  He  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  most 
upright  statesmen  of  his  time.  His  writings  include  tracts 
on  the  reform  of  the  Greek  and  English  languages,  and  a 
mass  of  diplomatic  private  correspondence.  His  principal 
work  was  his  De  Republica  Atiglomm;  the  Mamr  of  Governe- 
meni  or  PolicJe  of  the  Realm  of  England.  It  is  the  most 
important  description  of  the  constitution  and  government  of 
England  written  in  the  Tudor  age.  It  was  first  printed  at 
London  in  1583-4,  and  passed  through  eleven  editions  in 
English  in  little  more  than  a  century.  The  editions  from 
1689  onwards  have  the  title  which  Milton  gives,  'The 
Commonwelth  of  England '  (D.  N.  B.). 

Sir  Frederick  Pollock,  in  his  History  of  the  Science  of  Gov- 
ernment (p.  56),  makes  the  suggestion  that  Smith  had  access  to 
Jean  Bodin's  manuscript  of  the  De  Republica.  He  says  that 
'  Sir  Thomas  Smith  s  principles,  wherever  he  got  them,  have 
the  merit  of  being  much  the  clearest  which  down  to  that 
time  had  been  put  into  shape  by  an  English  author  or  in 
the  English  language.' 

26.  23.  The  vulgar  judge  of  it,  etc.  Milton  noted  this 
quotation  from  Sir  Thomas  Smith  in  his  Commonplace  Boot, 


Notes  1 1 1 

p.  81.  Sir  Thomas  Smith,  in  his  Commotmtallh  of  England, 
does  not  use  the  exact  words  '  whether  it  be  lawful  to  rise 
against  a  tyrant,'  but  '  whether  the  obedience  of  them  be 
just,  and  the  disobedience  wrong  ?  the  profit  and  conversation 
of  that  Estate,  Right  and  Justice,  or  the  dissolution?  and 
whether  a  good  and  upright  man,  and  lover  of  his  Country 
ought  to  maintaine  and  obey  them,  or  to  seek  by  all  meanes 
to  abolish  them '  ?  Neither  is  his  conclusion  stated,  because 
it  would  not  suit  Milton's  purpose :  '  Which  great  and  haughty 
courages  have  often  attempted  as  Dion  to  rise  up  against 
Dionysius;  Thrasibulus  against  the  30  Tyrants;  Brutus  and 
Cassius  against  Caesar,  which  hath  been  cause  of  many 
commotions  in  Commonwealths ;  whereof  the  judgement  of 
the  common  people  is  according  to  the  event  and  successe ; 
of  them  which  be  learned  according  to  the  purpose  of  the 
doers,  and  the  estate  of  the  time  then  present.  Certain  it 
is,  that  it  is  alwaies  a  doubtful  and  hazardous  matter  to 
meddle  with  the  changing  of  Lawes  and  Government  or  to 
disobey  the  orders  of  the  Rule  or  Government,  which  a  man 
doth  find  alreadie  established '  (chap,  fi,  pp.  7,  8). 

26.26.  OUda«(519?-570?).  The  monk  Gildas,  reputed  founder 
of  an  abbey  at  Ruys  in  Britanny,  is  one  of  the  earliest  author- 
ities on  Welsh  history.  Later  chroniclers  called  him  Gildas 
the  Wise ;  Bede  used  his  book  as  a  source  for  his  Hisloria 
Ecclesiastica,  and  speaks  of  him  as  Gildas,  the  historian  of 
the  Britons  (Bk.  1,  chap.  22).  The  oldest  title  of  this  ancient 
chronicle  is  Liber  Querulus  de  Excidio  BriUmnia.  The  tone  may 
be  gathered  from  the  quotation  which  Milton  use.s :  it  is  that 
of  a  gloomy  patriot  who  sees  that  the  victories  of  the  Saxons 
have  been  possible  because  of  the  vices  of  his  own  people. 
The  literary  value  of  Gildas'  writing  is  small,  and  its  historical 
value  Ues  in  the  fact  that  he  is  the  most  ancient  of  all  our 
historians. 

The  passage  of  Gildas  to  which  Milton  has  reference  is 
as  follows :  '  Kings  were  anointed,  not  according  to  Gods 
ordinance,  but  such  as  showed  themselves  more  cruel  than 
the  rest;  and  soon  .ifter,  they  were  put  to  death  by  those 
who  had  elected  them,  without  ^any  inquiry  into  their  merits. 


I 


I  if 


H 


112  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 

but  because  others  still  more  cruel  were  chosen  to  succeed 
them'  (English  Chronicles,  trans.  Giles,  1.309). 

Cf.  Commonplace  Book,  p.  39:  'De  regibus  Britannis  GiUas, 
ungebantur  reges  non  per  deum.  p.  119:  contra  quam  nunc 
vulgus  existimat  quoscunque  scilicet  reges  dei  unctos  esse.' 
Cf.  First  Def.  (Bohn  1.  172).  Notice  how  many  examples 
from  the  early  history  of  Britain  are  adduced. 

27.  1.  Tennie.  The  nature  of  the  right  or  title  by  which 
property,  especially  real  property,  is  held.  Land-tenure  is  in 
the  main  either  feudal  or  allodial.  Milton  in  this  place,  and 
in  the  title  of  this  pamphlet,  refers  to  the  legal  right  or  title 
by  which  the  king  holds  the  sovereignty,  with  all  the  pre- 
rogatives, lands,  and  emoluments. 

27.  14.  Depoad  and  put  to  death  thir  Kiagi.  Early 
British  kings,  Vortiger,  Mauricus,  and  Morcant  were  disci- 
plined and  even  deposed.    See  EitoH.  (Bohn  1.  487). 

27.  18.  The  power  ofthirKeyei.  Alluding  to  the  theory 
that  Peter  was  made  the  prince  of  the  apostles  and  the  key- 
bearer  of  eternal  life.  This  key-bearing  power,  if  not  founded 
on  Scripture,  is  one  of  the  chief  traditions  of  the  church. 
The  key  is  a  symbol  of  authority,  and  St.  Peter  in  medieval 
art  was  usually  represented  as  holding  the  keys  of  heaven. 
The  power  of  the  keys,  and  the  power  to  bind  and  loose, 
summed  up  the  largest  pretensions  of  the  priesthood.  The 
priest,  it  was  claimed,  was  bearer  of  the  keys  of  the  kingdom 
of  heaven,  and  also  possessed  the  power  to  forgive  sins. 
He  could  open  or  close  the  door  of  forgiveness.  Dante 
contended  that  the  power  of  the  keys  could  not  set  aside 
the  civil  law:  'Therefore  I  say  that  although  Peter's  suc- 
cessor can  loose  and  bind  within  the  requirements  of  the 
office  committed  to  Peter,  yet  it  does  not  follow  from  that  that 
he  can  loose  or  bind  the  decrees  of  the  empire,  or  the  laws, 
(as  was  their  contention)  unless  it  could  be  further  proved 
that  this  concerns  the  office  of  the  keys'  (De  Monarchia, 
trans.  Wicksteed,  Bk.  8,  chap.  8). 

The  Presbyterians  also  claimed  the  power  of  the  keys, 
asserting  that  'the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  were 
committed  to  the  officers  of  the  church,  by  virtue  whereof 


Notts 


113 


they  have  power  respectively  to  retain  and  remit  sins,  to  shut  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  against  the  impenitent  both  by  the  Word  and 
censures,  and  to  open  it  to  the  penitent  by  absolution.'  See 
Neale,  Hist,  of  the  Puritans  2.  10.  Cf.  also  the  article,  0/ 
Church  Goventmmt,  in  the  Directory  for  Public  IVorship. 

27.  21.  Canons  and  Cenaores  Ecclesiaatical,  At  the  close 
of  the  13th  century,  the  canon  law  had  become  a  large 
body  of  principles  and  rules  derived  from  the  decretals  of 
popes  and  commentaries  (glossa)  thereon.  The  civil  law 
consisted  of  Justinian's  Digest  and  the  commentaries  that 
had  accumulated  since  the  revival  of  legal  studies  in  the 
12th  century.  Through  the  development  of  the  canon  law 
into  a  system,  universally  applied  in  the  ecclesiastical  courts, 
the  advantage  derived  by  the  secular  rulers  from  the  Roman 
law  had  been  neutralized.  In  the  varying  phases  of  the 
controversy  over  jurisdiction,  the  jurists  of  the  civil  law — 
the  civilians— were  confronted  by  an  equally  well-trained 
body  of  canonists  (Dunning,  Political  Theories,  p.  222). 

27. 22.  A  final  excommunication.  The  greater  excommmii- 
cation.  This  action  was  part  of  the  power  of  the  keys.  The 
canon  law  recognizestwo  kinds  of  excommunication :  the  lesser, 
by  which  an  offender  is  deprived  of  the  right  to  participate 
in  the  sacraments ;  the  greater,  by  which  he  is  cut  off  from 
all  communication  with  the  church  or  its  members.  In  the 
latter  case  a  man  was  not  only  sent  to  Coventry,  but  liable 
ti>  be  starved  to  death.  He  was  regarded  by  the  faithful 
as  already  in  hell.  The  punishment  of  excommunication  cor- 
respondr  1  to  the  death-penalty  in  the  Mosaic  law.  When 
a  disoliedient  monarch  refused  to  submit,  the  pope  attempted 
to  depose  him  by  releasing  his  subjects  from  the  feudal 
duties  which  had  been  assumed  in  the  oath  of  allegiance. 

Milton  speaks  of  even  the  Protestant  minister  holding  forth 
the  dreadfiil  sponge  of  excommunication,  and  pronouncing 
the  unrepentant  sinner  wiped  out  of  the  list  of  God's  in- 
heritance, and  in  the  custody  of  Satan  till  he  repent  (Reason 
of  Church  Government:  Bohn  2.  498). 

27.23.  Though  without  a  special  Text  or  president.  One  of 
Prynne's  arguments  in  his  Briefe  Memento  begins  ;  '  Remember 


i< 


ii 


i' 


1 14  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 

that  you  have  neither  Law  nor  direct  president  lor  what 
you  are  going  about  He  contends  that  Edward  II.  and 
Richard  I],  were  forced  by  Mortimer  and  Henry  FV.  to  resign 
their  crowns  in  a  formal  manner'  (p.  18).  See  also  his 
argument  that  there  is  no  precedent  for  the  deposition  of 
a  king  in  Scripture,  nor  by  Protestant  kingdoms  (Speech  in 
House  of  Commot$s,  Dec.  4,  1648,  pp.  91  ff.).  He  beseeches 
parliament  not  to  begin  *such  a  bloody  president  as  this, 
upon  a  most  false  pretext'  (p.  98). 

Even  some  of  the  members  of  the  committee  appointed 
by  the  House  of  Commons  to  arrange  for  the  trial  of  the 
king  argued  that  there  was  no  precedent  in  history  for  the 
judicial  trial  of  a  king,  and  that  if  the  army  were  determined 
that  Charles  should  be  punished  capitally,  the  business  should 
be  left  to  the  army  itself  as  an  exceptional  and  irregular 
power  (Masson,  Life  3.  699). 

27.  26.  With  like  inAUreruice.  With  the  same  impartiality. 

27.  30.  Malignaat  kackiliden.  The  Presbyterian  preachers 
and  pamphleteers^  Malignai^,  cavaliers,  dam-mes  were  the 
namffs  bestowed  on  the  royalist  party  by  the  supporters  of 
parliament.  Fuller,  on  maltgnamt,  says : '  The  deduction  thereof 
being  disputable;  whether  from  bad  fire,  or  bad  fuel,  tnalus 
Ignis  or  malum  iignum :  but  this  is  sure,  betwixt  both,  the 
name  made  a  great  combustion.' 

28.  1.  TheDokeofSKKonie^LantgraTftofHeuen.  Maurice, 
Duke  of  Saxony,  and  Philip,  Landgrave  of  Hesse. 

28.  2.  The  whole  ProtacUnt  league.  The  League  of 
Smalkald,  formed  by  the  Protestants  of  Germany  in  1531 
as  a  defensive  confederacy,  because  of  the  menace  of  the 
Catholic  majority  at  the  Diet  of  Augsburg. 

28.  3.  Charleathetfth.  Emperor  of  Germany  (1519-1556). 
champion  of  the  Roman  Catholic  cause.  He  was  unsuccessful 
in  his  war  against  the  Protestant  princes  of  Germany,  being 
forced  in  1552  to  conclude  the  treaty  of  Passau,  confirmed 
at  Augsburg  in  1565. 

28.  4.  Benonnc'd  all  fUlh  aad  allegeanoe,  etc.  For  the 
proceedings  of  the  Protestant  League,  see  John  Sleidan,  Hist, 
of  the  Reform.,  trans.  Edmund  Bohun,  p.  17. 


Notes 


"5 


28.6.  Sleidu.  Johannes  PhUippua  Sleidanus  (160«-1S66), 
the  German  historian  and  dramatist,  was  called  Sleidan  from 
the  name  of  his  birthpUce.  He  was  historian  to  the  League 
of  Smalkald,  and  deputy  for  Strasburg  at  the  Council  of  Trent 
In  WQlton's  day  he  was  regarded  as  the  authoritative  historian 
of  the  Reformation,  and  of  the  struggle  of  Germany  against 
Spain.  His  history,  written  in  Latin  (J665),  was  translated 
mto  French,  English,  German,  and  Italian. 
MUton  also  refers  to  Sleidan  in  Apol.  Snucl.  (Bohn  3.  130) 
28.  10.  Thair  QaMa-Hi^ent  Mary  of  Lorraine,  Queen 
of  James  V,  Regent  from  1664  to  1860. 

28  11,  She  lammag,  etc.  When  the  messengers,  sent 
by  the  parliament  assembled  in  Stirling,  reminded  the  Queen- 
Regent  of  her  former  promises,  she  answered  'that  the 
pledges  of  Princes  were  no  fUrther  to  be  urged  upon  them 
for  performance,  than  as  it  stood  with  their  personal  conveni- 
ence.  To  this  t'.ey  rejoined  that  then  they  renounced  all 
allegiance  and  subjection  to  her '  (Buchanan,  Hist,  of  Scotland 

16:   1.398).  J-J^uama 

28.  16.  BrohMun.  George  Buchanan  (1606-1682),  the 
famous  Scottish  poet  and  historian.  He  spent  his  eariy 
manhood  m  France,  where  he  was  professor  of  Lam  at 
Bordeaux.  Converted  to  Protestantism,  he  was  impriKmed 
by  the  Inquisition,  and  compelled  to  translate  the  Psalms 
mto  Utin  verse.  In  1662  he  became  tutor  to  Mary  Queen 
of  Scots,  and  later  to  James  VL  His  greatest  works  were 
those  of  his  last  years,  A  History  of  Scotland  md  the  treatise 
De  Jure  Regm  apud  Scolos,  which  was  so  execrated  bv 
royalists  that  even  as  late  as  1683  it  was  burned  at  Oxfonl 
28.  18.    John  Knox  (1205-1572). 

28.  20.  MainUind  op-nly.  This  debate  occurred  at  a 
meeting  of  a  General  Assembly  of  the  Kirk,  convened  in 
Edmburgh  im  June,  1664.  Lethington  and  a  number  of 
courtiers  complained  to  the  assembly  of  a  form  of  prayer 
used  by  Knox  in  which,  they  declared,  he  had  used  insulting 
language  regarding  the  queen.  In  the  course  of  the  debate 
the  whole  question  of  the  lawfulness  of  disobedience  to  the 
ruler  was  threshed  out. 


II 


1 16  Tie  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Maghtrates 

28.  21.  Lethington.  William  Maitland,  the  eldest  son  of 
Sir  Richard  Maitland  of  Lethington,  became  secreUry  to 
Queen  Mary  in  1861.  Knox  refers  to  him  as  'William 
Maitland  of  Lethington  younger,  a  man  of  good  leamyng, 
and  of  scharpe  witt  and  reassonyng'  (Knox,  Works,  ed. 
Laing  1.  247.)  Queen  Eliiabeth  called  Lethington  'the 
flower  of  the  wits  of  Scotland.'  The  common  people  of 
Scotland  called  him  Mitchell  Wylie,  their  name  for  Macchiavelli. 

28.  23.  The  fact  of  Jehu.  etc.  To  the  argument  of  his  oppo- 
nents that  the  action  of  Jehu,  and  other  Old  Testament  cases 
of  tyrannicide,  were  extraordinary,  and  not  to  be  imitated  in 
modem  times,  Knox  replied  in  words  paraphrased  by  Milton : 
•  And  as  tuiching  that  ye  allege,  that  the  fact  wes  extra- 
ordinarie,  and  is  nocht  to  be  imitat,  I  say,  that  it  had  ground 
of  Godis  ordinary  jugement,  whilk  command  is  the  idolater 
to  dey  the  deith;  and,  thairfoir,  I  yit  againe  affirme,  that  it 
is  to  be  imiut  of  all  those  that  preferris  the  true  honour, 
the  true  worschip  and  glorie  of  God  to  the  affectionnis  of 
flesch,  and  of  wickit  princes '  (Knox,  Hist,  of  Reform,  in  ScoL, 
ed.  David  Laing,  2.  446). 

In  discussing  the  rebuke  of  King  Uzziah  by  Azarias  the 
priest,  Knox  drew  this  inference:  '  Heirof,  my  Lord,  1 
conclude,  that  subjectis  nocht  onlie  may,  but  also  aucht 
to  withstand  and  resist  thair  princes,  whensoever  thay  do 
onie  thing  that  expresslie  repugnis  to  God,  his  law  or  holy 
ordinance  '  (lb.,  p.  450.)  In  summing  up  his  argument,  Knox 
declared  that  he  had   proved  the  following   contentions: 

(1)  That  subjects  had  delivered  one  innocent  from  the 
hands  of  their  king,  and  therein  had  not  offended  God. 

(2)  That  subjects  had  refused  t^,  .strike  innocents  when  a 
kiJ^g  had  commanded,  and  in  so  doing  had  denied  no  just 
obedience. 

(3)  That  God  has  not  only  of  a  subject  made  a  king,  but 
has  also  armed  subjects  against  their  natural  kings,  and 
commanded  them  to  Uke  vengeance  upon  them  according 
to  his  law. 

(4)  That  God's  people  has  executed  God's  law  against 
their  king,  having  no  further  regard  for  him  in  that  behalf 


Notes  1 1  - 

than  if  he  had  been  the  most  simple  subject  within  his 
realm. 

'And  therefore,  yet  I  am  assured  that  not  only  God's 
people  may,  but  also  that  they  are  bound  to  do  the  same 
where  the  like  c.-imes  are  committed,  and  when  he  gives 
unto  them  the  Uke  power  (lb.,  p.  483). 
28.  34.  Aniwerable.  Corresponding},  accordant. 
28.  34.  John  Cr«i«  (1S12  1600).  In  early  life  Craig 
became  a  Dominican  friar,  and  narrowly  escaped  from  a 
sentence  of  the  Inquisition  at  Kome,  which  had  condemned 
him  to  the  flames  as  a  heretic  in  1559,  He  at  length 
succeeded  in  reaching  Scotland.  He  was  minister  of  the 
Canongate  for  a  short  time,  before  he  was  appointed  Knox's 
colleague.  He  was  translated  from  Edinburgh  to  New  Aber- 
deen before  1574,  but  was  brought  back  as  King's  Minister 
m  July,  1680.  He  survived  till  the  year  1600  (M'Crie,  Lift 
of  Knox  2.  33-671. 

When  Craig  wa.s  called  upon  to  address  the  Assembly, 
he  told  of  a  disputation  on  this  question,  which  he  had 
heard  at  the  University  of  Bologna  in  1664.  The  conclusion 
was  that  all  rulers  may  and  ought  to  be  reformed  or  deposed, 
as  often  as  they  break  that  promise  made  on  oath  to  their 
subjects. 

29.  5.  Eaox  being  commanded  to  write,  etc.  Knox 
declared  that  he  had  agreed  to  write,  but  that  Maitland, 
secretary  to  Queen  Mary,  would  not  allow  him  to  do  so, 
but  had  promised  that  he  himself  would  write  and  would 
show  the  reply  to  Knox.  Maitland,  howr.T.  had  not  been 
as  good  as  his  word,  and  now,  when  the  retjuest  was  renewed 
that  he  should  write,  Knox  refused,  giving  as  a  reason  that 
by  doing  so  he  should  either  schaw  my  awin  ignorance 
and  forgetfiilness,  or  eUis  inconstancy.' 

29.14.  TheBoolemartioKBtoryofSootUnd.  The  History 
of  the  Reformation  in  Scotland,  consisting  ot  live  books,  was 
published  under  Knox's  name  m  1644.  The  tint  four  books 
are  by  Knox,  but  the  fifth  was  by  other  Scotch  divines  who 
contributed  anonymously  to  the  work.  Events  are  set  forth 
with  great  detail,  many  debates  and  conversations  being 


'%^s:V 


1 1 8  The  Tenure  of  Kingi  and  Magistrates 

given  verbatim.  Book  4  coven  the  period  1801-1S84.  The 
book  wu  frequently  called  The  Hislorit  of  Ike  CImnh  of 
ScoOami,  and  it  so  referred  to  by  Milton.  The  onginal 
title  of  the  work  ia  aa  foUowi:  '  Tke  Hitlory  of  the  Refor- 
mahoun  ofReligiom  within  tke  Realme  of  Scotland  Conteitnyng 
the  maner  and  by  what  Persona  the  Light  of  Chriitia  Evangell 
hath  bene  manifested  unto  thia  Realme,  after  that  horrl'ile 
and  universall  Defectioun  from  the  trewth,  which  hea  cume 
by  the  Meanea  of  that  Romane  Antichriat' 

29.  18.  Thaw  troaUaa.  Struggles  of  the  Puritana  for  a 
firee  church  in  a  free  state. 

28.  24.  Thay  mat  in  the  faild  Mary  thir  lawftal  and 
hereditary  Queen.  Milton  drew  his  facts  regarding  this  struggle 
from  Buchanan,  Hist,  of  Scot.  18: 1.  440-462.  Buchanan  says 
that  Mary  was  forced  to  resign  her  government,  'on  the 
pretence  of  sickness,  or  any  other  specious  excuse,  and  to 
commit  the  care  of  her  son,  and  the  administration  of  public 
affairs,  to  which  of  the  nobles  she  pleased'  (/A.,  p.  461). 
See  also  accounts  of  thia  event  in  Spotswood,  Hist,  of  tke 
Chunk  of  Scotland,  ed.  Russell,  2.  61ff.;  Knox,  U'trks,  ed. 
Laing,  2.  BS8  fF. ;  De  Thou,  Hisl.  UniverstlU  6.  262-264 ;  and 
Laing,  Hisl.  of  Scot.  2. 187  ff. 

29.  28.    Five  yean  after  that    1S67. 

29.  29.  Sent  Embaaaadora  to  Qnaen  Eliaabath.  The  fol- 
lowing were  ambaasadota :  the  Earl  of  Moray,  Bishop  of  Orkney, 
Abbot  of  Dunfermline,  Earl  of  Morton,  Lord  Lindsay,  James 
Macgill,  Heniy  Batoaves,  Secretary  Lethington,  and  George 
Buchanan.  The  meeting  of  these  ambassadors  with  the 
commission  appointed  by  the  English  government  and  by 
Mary's  representatives  was  held  at  York,  Oct.  5,  1567. 

29.  31.  Had  ni'd  toward!  her  more  lenity,  etc.  An  entry 
in  the  Commonplace  Book,  p.  81,  gives  ua  the  clue  to  Milton's 
authority :  '  Scoti  proceres  missis  ad  Elizabetham  legatis  post 
Mariam  regno  pulaam,  jure  id  factum  multia  eaemplia  con- 
tendunt.  Thuan.  hist  60,  p.  769.'  He  follows  De  Thou, 
Hisloire  UmverselU  8.  294. 

30.  4.  That  the  Scot*  were  a  free  Kaiion,  etc.  Both 
De  Thou  and  Milton  must  have  consulted  Buchanan,  Hist,  of 


Nttei 


119 


Sal.  20:  1.  80t :  '  The  nation  of  the  Scoto  being  at  tirat  bee 
by  the  coinmon  luiTrage  of  the  people,  set  up  kinga  over 
them,  conditionally,  that  if  need  were,  they  might  take  away 
the  same  suffrages  that  gave  it.  The  principles  of  this  law 
remain  to  this  day ;  for,  in  the  neighboring  islands,  and  in 
many  places  of  the  continent,  which  retain  the  ancient  speech 
and  customs  of  our  forefathen,  the  same  course  is  observed 
in  creating  their  magistrates.  Moreover  those  ceremonies 
which  are  used  in  the  inauguration  of  our  kinga,  have  an 
express  representation  of  this  law,  by  which  it  clearly  appeara, 
that  monarchical  government  is  nothing  but  a  mutual  stipu- 
lation between  the  sovereign  and  people.  It  would  be  tedious 
to  enumerate  how  many  kings  our  ancestors  have  divested 
of  their  thrones,  banished,  imprisoned,  and  put  to  drath.' 
These  sentiments  are  put  into  the  mouth  of  Morton,  returned 
from  his  English  embassy.  In  a  convention  of  the  nobles 
held  at  Stirling,  he  gave  the  substance  of  the  Scotch  defence 
made  before  Queen  Elizaljeth.  Buchanan,  however,  in  the 
manner  of  an  ancient  historian,  ha.<!  evolved  what  he  con- 
siders to  be  a  fitting  speech  for  the  occasion.  Other  histories 
are  silent  as  to  this  anti-monarchical  speech  before  Elizabeth, 
and  it  must  be  regarded  as  a  fabrication. 

In  the  protestation  made  by  the  Regent  and  his  colleagues 
at  the  presenting  of  the  teie,  or  accusation  of  Mary  of  the 
murder  of  her  husband,  they  asserted  that  they  had  used 
more  lenity  to  her  than  she  deserved,  but  there  is  no  mention 
in  either  the  pages  ofSpotswood  or  Calderwood,  or  in  any 
of  the  documents  presented  by  the  Scotch  commissioners, 
of  ancient  laws  and  ceremonies,  and  power  to  unking  kings. 
Such  language  would  scarcely  have  been  palatable  to  Queen 
Elizabeth.  The  Regent  did  not  say  they  deposed  Mary,  but 
asserted  that  she  had  resigned  of  her  own  accord.  See 
Calderwood,  Hisl.  of  the  Scottish  Kirk  2.  430-473,  for  a  review 
of  the  proceedings.  The  only  evidence  in  favor  of  the  Buchanan 
version  is  supplied  by  Camden,  Anrnd.,  pars  11  (ad  ann. 
1571).  He  relates  that  Queen  Elizabeth  was  eitremely 
indignant  at  the  views  expressed  by  the  Scotch  deputa- 
tion. 


■  It 


SI 


MICROCOPY   mSOUJTION   TBT   CHART 

(ANSI  and  ISO  TEST  CHART  No.  2) 


I.I 


Ik 

llii 


=  1^ 

\m  m  m 


A     APPUBa  IMHGE 


16S1  Eait  Uoin   Strial 
Rocn«it«f,   Utw   fork        1 
(718)   *8Z  -  0300-  Phofi. 
(716)   188  -  5989  -  fg. 


120  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 

30.  6.  Old  cuitomes  yet  among  the  High-Ianden.  Cf. 
Buchanan,  De  Jure,  p.  157:  'For  the  ancient  Scots  or 
Highlanders  continue,  down  to  our  days,  to  elect  their  own 
chieftains,  and  to  assign  them  a  council  of  elders ;  and  those 
who  do  not  obey  this  council  are  deprived  of  the  honourable 
ofHce.' 

80.18.  Faction.  Raleigh,  in  7"A«  CaAi«rf-Co««o/ ( Worfo, 
ed.  Birch,  1.  94),  defines  Faction  as  '  a  certain  association  of 
divers  Persons,  combined  to  the  Offence  of  others.  It  pro- 
ceedeth  often  of  private  or  public  Displeasure,  and  more 
often  of  Ambition.' 

Oibaon.  See  John  Mackintosh,  Hist,  of  Civilisation  in 
Scotland  (1893)  2.  188 :  '  It  should  be  stated,  however,  that 
the  preachers  sometimes  provoked  the  King.  A  short  time 
before  this  incident  [1686],  James  Gibson,  the  minister  of 
Pencaitland,  preached  in  Edinburgh,  and  uttered  the  following 
statement,—"  I  thought  that  Captain  James  Stuart,  Lady  Isabel 
his  wife,  and  William  Stewart,  had  persecuted  the  Church, 
but  now  I  have  found  the  truth,  that  it  was  the  king  him- 
self. As  Jeroboam  and  his  posterity  were  rooted  out  for 
staying  of  the  true  worship  of  God,  so  I  fear  that  if  our 
King  continue  in  his  present  course,  he  shall  be  the  last  of 
his  race."  For  this,  Gibson  was  brought  before  the  Privy 
Council  and  imprisoned.  He  was  afterwards  liberated,  and 
for  a  time  suspended  by  order  of  the  General  Assembly.' 

That  very  inacription.  The  words  on  the  coin  were 
borrowed  from  the  emperor  Trajan  (16.  13).  One  side  of 
the  coin  shows  a  naked  sword,  upholding  a  crown  on  its 
point  Milton  has  not  given  the  full  reading:  Pro.  Me.  Si. 
Mereor.  In.  Me.  It  is  believed  that  George,  Buchanan  was 
the  author  of  this  radical  motto.  '  Hoc  lemma,  says  Ruddiman 
(quo  et  suum  adversus  reges  ingenium  prodit)  Georgium 
Buchananum  Jacobi  VI.  praeceptorem  subministrasse  omnes 
consentiunt '  (Anderson,  Selectus  Diplomatum  et  Numismatum 
Scotia  Thesaurus,  p.  108). 

30.  20.  The  itates  of  Holland,  etc.  De  Thou  relates  that 
on  July  26, 1681,  the  States-General,  assembled  at  the  Hague, 
made  a  solemn  renunciation  of  their  obedience  and  fidelity 


Notes  ,2, 

to  PhiUp  n  of  Spain.  They  passed  an  act  to  this  effect 
"t  b„™  '.'"""'■^'"'^  This  bill  sets  forth  ,ha.  „a"  ' 
not  born  to  serve  their  princes,  but  that  God  has  created 
pnnces  for  nations.  A  prince  cannot  subsist  without  a  peTn  e 
but  a  people  may  subsist  without  a  prince.  After  a  r  cSa,' 
of  the  wrongs  done  to  the  people,  and  the  perfidy  "f  Le 
Spamsh  court,  the  document  proceeds  to  release  thc^eopl 
from  their  allepance :  •  Qu'  a  ces  causes,  les  Etats  GeSx 
red„,tsala  deniiere  extremite,  out  declare  et  dedare„.""e 
Ph.hppe  ro,  d'Espagne  est  dechu  du  droit  cu'il  a™i 'a  a 
souverainete  des  Pals-bas  (Hist.  UniverselU  li:  ,8  622) 
PhL' n'"'  '°,"*"  '^^'  *^'  "'^  resolution  to  depose 
IXiZT   A    "  "^  "^  St-'-General  at  the  Ha^e 

reason!'of  th.  H  ?  "^  ''°'=™'«'  ^"'"'"^  '•"""The 
reasons  of  the  deposition,  was  printed  and  scattered  over  all 
Europe  (Blok,  His,  of  the  People  of  tke  Netherla„.kT[^l 

oi.  4.    Thnanus.    Jacques  Auguste  de  Thou  (1553-1617 
a  French  statesman,  diplomat,  and  historian.    In  spite  of  hit 
varied  activities  in  camp,  in  palace,  and  in  foreign  emb^ie^ 
he  accumulated  materials  for  his  great  work,  lu  hi-stoTof 
his  own  times,  which  he  wrote  after  his  appointmenT  a, 

11  .  T"k'".  "''•  "'  ^^^"^  "^^  *°*  down  Tim 
After  his  death,  1.  was  completed  by  other  hands,  and  the 
fct  complete  edition  (1733)  consisted  of  138  books.  It  is 
yually  called  Mi/",V.  U^verselU,  but  the  correct  title 
J^A  Thuam  H.stona  sui  Temporis.  De  Thou's  history  is  the 
mo^t  important  work  of  the  kind  produced  in  the  mh  cet 
tuo'.  He  was  singularly  impartial  and  moderate 
31.  5.    Ko  state  or  kingdom,  etc.    The  prosperity  of  the 

ofTrrrf,  """"''=  "■"  *«  '^"'  -d  the'admi^at^on 
of  Europe.  That  nation  was  not  only  an  object-lesson  be- 
cause  of  Its  struggle  for  religious  hberty,  but'  also  be^^e 
alLl  "h     °?    ^"^  ^°""^  ""  •"^'='«"  "'l  *=  l«="ers  of 

Trcrgratn'r  '""-""^ '°  ^'^  -""^'^ '--'-« «=- 

w/*J„-  ^^^  """  P-^oiioial  eye.  Probably  while  MUton 
was  ^ting  this  pamphletHoUand'sambassadoiiweremakinT 
their  futde  efforts  to  save  King  Charles.    Milton  consider^ 


m 


■  22  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 

that  it  was  the  height  ot  inconsistency  for  a  Protestant 
republic  to  interfere  in  the  cause  of  royalty  against  the 
interests  of  coreligionists.  France  and  other  monarchical 
governments  of  Europe  stood  aloof,  but  the  Protestant  states 
of  Holland  sent  two  special  ambassadors  with  instructions  to 
use  every  exertion  on  behalf  of  Charles  with  Fairfei  and 
the  parliament  (see  Despatch  No.  3  in  app.  to  Guizot,  Hist, 
of  Eng.  Rev.). 

At  this  time  the  Dutch  were  not  displaying  any  too 
friendly  feeling  towards  Protestant  England.  Oliver  Crom- 
well, a  few  years  later,  did  his  best  to  bring  ibout  an  al- 
liance, but  in  vain. 

31.  16.  Waldenies  of  Lyons,  nA  Luignedoc.  Milton's 
authority  on  Waldensian  history  was  Gilles,  Hist.  Ecclesiasligue 
des  Eglises  VauMses  1160-1643  (Pignerol,  1881).  The  Wal- 
densians  were  a  peaceable  and  harmless  people  who  believed 
in  obeying  the  word  of  Christ,  '  If  they  persecute  you  in  one 
city  flee  into  another '  (Hist.  Eccles,,  p.  8). 

The  Waldenses  were  so-called  from  Peter  Waldo,  their 
founder,  a  rich  citizen  and  merchant  of  Lyons  in  the  latter 
half  of  the  twelfth  century.  On  the  French  side  of  the  Alps 
they  were  called  the  Poor  Men  of  Lyons ;  on  the  Italian  side,  the 
Poor  Men  of  Lombardy.  Languedoc  is  the  region  between 
the  Rhone  and  the  Garonne. 

31.  29.  Oatha  of  Allegeance  and  Supremacy.  On  the 
discovery  of  the  Gunpowder  Plot,  the  parUament  of  1804 
enacted  severe  laws  against  the  Roman  Catholics.  A  statute 
required  them  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance,  the  rehisal  to  do 
which  incurred  heavy  penalties.  The  Act  of  Supremacy,  in 
the  first  year  of  Elizabeth,  imposed  on  all  accepting  temporal 
as  well  as  ecclesiastical  offices  an  oath  denying  the  spiritual 
jurisdiction  of  the  pope.  It  was  an  acknowledgment  that 
the  queen,  and  not  the  pope,  was  the  head  of  the  Church  of 
England.  The  oath  of  allegiance  had  to  be  taken  immediately 
before  the  admission  of  a  member  to  his  seat  in  parliament. 
Prynne,  in  his  Briefe  Memento,  p.  4,  accuses  the  members  of 
high  treason,  on  the  ground  that  they  had  broken  the  oath 
of  allegiance.    He  quotes  the  oath  in  full.    See  also  Prynne, 


Nous  ijj 

The  Substance  of  a  Speech  made  in  the  House  of  Commons 
on  Dec.  4,  ,64a  (pp.  6,  86).  In  this  pamphlet  he  accuses 
army  members  of  breaking  their  oatfe  of  supremacy  and 
aUegiance,  and  the  Solemn  Loague  and  Covenant. 

The  ministers  of  Lancashire  enumerate  as  oaths,  vows 
and  covenants  which  they  have  sworn  to  obey: 

(1)  The  Oath  of  Allegiance, 

(2)  The  Oath  of  the  King's  Supremacy, 

(8)  The  Vow  and  Protestation  of  8  May,  1641. 
(4)  The  Solemn  League  and  Covenant. 
The  Paper  calkd  the  Agreement  of  the  People  taken  into 
Consideration  by  the  Ministers  of  Christ  in  the  Province  of 
Lancaster  pp.  4  and  5. 

32.  23.    The  lesser  part  of  Lords  and  Commons.    The 
Presbyterian  faction  in  Parliament. 

32.  23.  That  remaind  faitUtaL  They  voted  against  the 
Independents  in  their  determination  to  treat  no  longer  with 
the  king,  and  to  bring  him  to  justice.  On  the  2d  of  De- 
cember, 1648,  there  were  242  in  the  House  of  Commons. 
Ihe  majority  were  Presbyterians  who  detested  the  army  and 
the  Independent  minority  in  league  with  the  army  (Masson 
Ufe  3.  693).  After  Pride's  Purge  (Dec.  6  and  7),  when  40 
members  were  arrested  and  96  were  excluded,  the  House 
steadily  dwindled  until  some  80  or  60  remained,  nearly  aU 
of  whom  were  devoted  to  the  army-chiefs. 

32.  26.  One  while  to  the  Commons  without  th  jrds 
On  July  23,  1647,  the  Lords  unanimously  voted  in  tavor  of 
a  revocation  of  the  Militia  Committee  of  London.  Faithful 
Presbytenans  in  the  Commons  opposed  the  measure,  but 
were  outvoted.  Owing  to  these  votes,  the  Presbyterians  of 
London  stormed  both  Houses  of  Parliament,  and  by  mob- 
violence  compelled  Lords  and  Commons  to  revoke  their 
unpopular  ordinance.  This  was  one  case  in  which  the  Pres- 
bytenans were  wholly  against  the  Lords  (Masson,  Ufe  3. 
660,  581). 

32.  27.  Another  while  to  ihe  Lords  without  the  Commons. 
When  the  resolution  against  the  King,  and  the  ordinance  for 
his  trial,  were  passed  by  the  House  of  Commons  on  Jan.  1  1649 


1 1  ri 


124  The  Tenure  of  Kings  anJ  Magistrates 

all  the  Presbyterians  of  London  and  of  the  kingdom  were 
filled  with  wrath.  Their  only  hope  lay  in  the  House  of 
Lords.  Their  action  of  Jan.  2,  although  of  no  effect,  had 
the  prayers  of  all  Presbyterians  behind  it  On  that  date  the 
Upper  House  dealt  with  the  resolution  and  ordinance  sent 
up  to  them  by  the  Commons.  'Unanimously  and  passion- 
ately all  the  Peers  present  rejected  both  Resolution  and 
Ordinance,  the  Earl  of  Denbigh  declaring  he  would  be  torn 
in  pieces  rather  than  have  any  share  in  so  infamous  a  busi- 
ness, and  the  Earl  of  Pembroke,  who  came  nearest  to  neu- 
trality, saying  he  loved  not  businesses  of  life  and  death.  Having 
hurled  this  defiance  at  the  Commons,  the  Lords  were  powerless 
for  more,  and  adjourned  for  a  week '  (Masson,  Lifi  3.  703). 

31.27.  Stm.  Constar.ay,  habitually.  Shak. //om.  2. 2. 42 : 
'  Thou  still  hast  been  the  father  of  good  news.' 

33.  1.    Thir  fine  olausti  in  the  Covnant.    See  Introduction. 

As  to  the  authorship  of  this  clause,  see  Baillie,  Letters 
1.  62-64.  Those  responsible  for  the  preparation  of  the  text 
of  the  Covenant  were  the  Earl  of  Rothes,  Lord  Loudoun, 
and  the  celebrated  Scotch  ministers,  Alexander  Henderson  and 
David  Dickson.  It  is  almost  certain  that  either  Henderson 
or  Dickson  drew  up  the  clauses.  See  also  Masson,  Lt/e  1. 
780,  note. 

33.  4.  ni  ancoen.  Success  was  not  confined  to  a  favor- 
able sense  in  Milton's  time.    Cf.  P.  ?.  4.  1,— 

Perplex'd  and  troubled  at  his  bad  success. 
The  tempter  stood. 

S3.  5.  To  every  the  leaat  particle.  To  the  very  least 
phrase.  The  least  phrase  pertaining  to  the  defence  of  religion, 
Uberty,  or  public  peace  was  regarded  by  the  ordinary  honest 
man  who  signed  the  Covenant  as  demanding  obedience 
before  the  safeguarding  of  the  king's  person,  crown,  and 
dignity.  The  fine  or  loyal  clause  in  the  Covenant,  so  MQton 
alleges,  was  inserted  to  provide  a  loophole  to  allow  the 
Scots  to  escape  the  consequences,  if  the  king  should  succeed 
in  the  war.     Cf.  4.  13-10. 

33.  8.  To  prove  it,  etc.  A  new  paragraph  is  indicated 
here  by  modem  editors. 


other.    Such  terT  are    kC      -T'  T  ""^  "^"'""e  "•« 
husband  and  ^™         '       «^  ^"^  "'''J*^'  f^'^er  and  , on, 

defend"-    ^"'«'-^«'»<ii-«.    A«,ing.hich.heyca,no. 
83.  16.    Of  force.    Perforce. 

84   ,S     M?.        i  ""  ■"""'"«■''  ''^  "o'^gbroke. 

aefe„ce\  r -r^^-xr-  ^^  -— - 

ra"n;lL^rrur^^.,?:^«^'P--''f-,u- 
a  defendant.  Here  the  seoLl«  "  P^™"^  "^'^te  of 

Of  .e  k^.  rev:„trrr  ;s::^— " 

Charle,!  ^.  Char'L  Tl  uv  a^s''"^  '°  '""^  "'■°  '^^'^^ 
in  levying  war,  1642^  166^^  T^;  '"°"'^'  °'  P""°"^'  ^^™« 

by  an^der  of  pLLtnt'^^  ?,"  ILT" ^^^ ''1^ 
of  notorious  delinoupnf.  ,„-    j-  '  "**  estates 

be  converted  and'ZSd'rL'''*  '°  "■^"''-'  *"«  "to 

chafes  of  the  CoZo^wel^  .^^^"^7°"  °/  *^  «'"' 

the  delinquents  were  sequestered     Astt,  ""''/°°<''  °f 

was  applied  to  all  CavaliersTt  n    .         .^™  delinquent 

should  call  the  king  a  ^'^d'  ^'eJ^X"  """^  "■"  *'"'°" 

wr-r^olve?  ifth  "corn!  '"?  ■""•  °"  J-'  "■  '«*8.  " 
and  by  the  LordI    „„^°T  "'  "^  ^  '""J''"'^  "^  "»  to  92, 

into  no^  i:.^%:z:z''^^T^^''^^^'  i"  »- 

yea  .n  both  Houses  must  have  been  P^hvt  ^^  "^°  ™'«' 
as  a  result  of  this  vote  the  Scotbthr!,  ^'^^y*""^'^'  although 
See  Masson,  L./e  a  fi^ff'"'' ^""""'^'""^'^ '''t  England. 


126  The  Tenure  nf  Kings  and  Magistrates 

36.  23.  Nor  knoT  I  CoTnant  so  sacred.  Buchanan  con- 
ducts a  similar  ar^ment.  Referring  to  the  mutual  compact 
that  subsists  between  a  king  and  his  subjects  he  proceeds : 
'  Does  not  he  then,  who  deviates  from  conventions,  and  acts 
in  opposition  to  compacts,  dissolve  those  compacts  and 
conventions '  ?  He  further  asserts  that  '  he  also,  with  whom 
tlie  agreement  was  made,  becoTpes  as  free  as  he  was  before 
the  stipulation '  {De  Jure,  p.  107). 

35.  26.  Tb^  fast  and  loos  of  our  prevaricating  Divines. 
Fast  and  loose  was  an  old  cheating  game  played  with  a 
stick  and  a  belt  or  string,  so  arranged  that  a  spectator  would 
think  he  could  make  the  latter  fast  by  placing  a  stick  through 
its  intricate  folds,  whereas  the  operator  could  detach  it  at 
once.  Hence  the  figure  'to  play  fast  and  loose,'  as  here, 
meant  to  ignore  at  one  moment  obligations  which  one 
acknowledges  at  another.  The  whole  phrase  might  be 
changed  into  '  The  slipperiness,  or  inconstancy,  of  our  quibb- 
ling divines.' 

35.  27.  Oversway'd,  Now  rare.  Prevailed  upon  by 
superior  authority.    Cf.  Shak.  Jul.  C.  11.  1.  203: 

If  he  be  so  resolved, 
I  can  o'er -•  him. 

36.  29.  And  words  not  works  of  supererogatlng  AUegeonce 
to  thir  enemy.  A  work  of  supererogation,  according  to 
Roman  Catholic  theology,  is  a  work  done  beyond  what  God 
requires,  and  constituting  a  reserved  store  of  merit  from 
which  the  Church  may  draw  to  dispense  to  those  whose 
service  is  defective.  Here  the  phrase  means  words  (but  not 
works)  more  than  duty  required.  The  Scotch  Covenanters 
put  into  their  obligation  words  of  loyalty  which  wer^  -n- 
necessary,  yet,  despite  these  words  of  allegiance,  theii  sub- 
sequent works,  i.  e.  warrings  >  j^ainst  the  King,  laid  up  no 
extra  store  of  credit  for  themselves  or  others. 

35.  35.  Our  adversaries.  He  refers  here  to  the  Royalists 
proper,  the  delinquents.  He  makes  a  distinction  between 
adversaries  and  Presbyterians. 

35.  36.  Ambignoua  interpretation.  Another  reference  to 
the  much-disputed  clause  in  the  Covenant. 


Notes 


"7 


or 'eniLat^"'""*-  Sp«aki.«  in  riddle,.  Ambiguous 
or  en^matic  m  e»pre^io„.    ff.  Rom.  and  Jul.  2.  3  4^ 

pfrfi'i''""'  ^°'^  '""•  »"<•  ''°™ly  in  thy  drift- 
R'ddI.ngconfe«io„  find,  but  /ddlingslirift' 
See  also  5.>(.  1.  1064:  ■My  riddling  days.' 
36.  36.    Degradement    Degradation,  abasement. 

DofnteL,^-  '  *'*"''  *""  "^  '""^y-    •Charles  was  disap- 
pomted  at  h,s  reception  in  the  Scottish  camp  at  NewcastleHe 

tt"  d' tT:';'"^™"'  r  "'^'^"'-'^  'ha.  hewasTaXl^us"; 
treated.  The  assurances  which  had  been  eiven  tohim.hro„„i 

kinl  H,r„  I  C"'""^«°ners  several  times  attended  the 
kmg  dunng  h«  stay  as  a  prisoner  of  the  Scotch  rrmv  at 
Newcastle,  July  ,646,  and  pressed  him  to  ag^ee  to  the 
proposmons  for  peace  forwarded  by  the  Endish  nariilm-nr 
Among  the  rest  Lord  Lowden,  Cha^cellf  tf' stS 
made  a  speech  m  which  he  said:  'And  now,  Sir,  if  your 
^Ujesty  (as  God  forbid)  shall  refuse  to  assent  o  the  ftZ 
smons,  you  W.1  lose  all  your  friends  in  the  Hou^f Te 
the  cty,  and  all  the  country;   and  all  England  wi      on 

and  set  up  another  Government,  they  will  charge  us  to 
debver  your  Majesty  to  them,  and  to  render  their  gL^son" 
and  remove  our  armies  out  of  England,  and  upryour 
&fajes.y;s  refusal  of  the  propositions,  both  kingdom^  will  be 
constrained   for  their  mutual  safety,    ,o    agrfe    and  settle 

S'erwm'rur:  ^'T'  "-'■' ""'"  (•■>— nieak:": 

^el)  will  rum  your  Majesty  and  your  posterity    if  your 

ftToL  And  f"  '  r^*™"™  of  y-'  MajestysToy^ 
ttrone).    And  if  your  Majesty  lose  England  by  your  wilful- 

S.r.'^p  T  "'  P'™'"^''  *°  ^°-"-  and  re^n  ins  „t. 
land    CJohn  Rushworth,  Hislorica/  ColUclioHS  6.  sfo). 
37.12.    Nor  did  they  t«.t.    Strive  to  make  a  treaty 


ii 


III 


ia8  The  Ttnure  o/Kiiip  and  Magistraus 

87.  1  ,.  Jojrn'd  them  Montly,  etc.  Milton  has  no  warrant 
for  thi«  statement.  There  was  no  sympathy  between  the 
Presbyterians  and  the  Cavalier  party.  Although  pity  for 
the  king  actuated  them  to  some  extent,  hatred  of  the  Army 
and  the  Independents,  and  a  desire  to  restore  the  king  to 
power  in  order  that  he  might  re-establish  Presbyterianism 
and  suppress  schisms,  inspired  the  Scottish  Commiasionen, 
and  the  faction  behind  them. 

37.  16.  They  grew  madd  npon.  Became  infatuated.  The  use 
of  the  preposition  here  indicates  the  thing  to  which  the  emotion 
•s  directed. 

37.  17.  A  uoat  tardy  and  improper  Treaty.  The  Scot- 
tish engagement  or  secret  treaty  between  Charles  and  the 
Scots  in  the  Isle  of  Wight  (Jan.  1648).  By  this  treaty  the 
king  bound  himself  to  confirm  the  Presbyterian  church 
government  in  England  for  three  years,  and  to  see  to  the. 
suppression  of  Independency  and  other  sects  and  heresies, 
n  return  the  Scots  bound  themselves  to  invade  Engl.ind,  for 
the  purpose  of  restoring  him  to  hia  full  royalty.  See  Masson, 
Life  8.  586  ff.  It  is  only  fair  to  say  that  the  Scottish  clergy 
violently  denounced  this  engagement,  and  opposed  the  in- 
vasion of  England  and  the  second  civil  war. 

37.18.  Bent.  Tendency  or  purpose.  Cf.  /".  i.  11.  697: 
Admit  delight,  the  bent  of  nature. 

37.  19.  Hii  evil  CoonceL  He  alludes  to  the  Sion  tract, 
wherein  mention  is  made  of  the  attempts  made  by  the  King 
and  his  evil  counsellors  against  the  liberties  of  both  houses 
of  parliament,  but  not  a  word  in  Jenunciation  of  the  King 
{A  Serious  and  Faith/ut  RepresenlatioH,  p.  6). 

37.  22.  Wfaila  he  was  in  thjr  power.  While  the  king 
was  a  prisoner  in  the  Scottish  camp. 

37.38.  SpeciScaL  Specific  A  thing  pertaining  to  another 
species. 

87.  33.  7ith  formes  and  habitndee.  In  ancient  philosophy, 
form  was  the  essential  determinant  principle  of  a  thing,  that 
which  makes  anything  a  determinative  species  or  kind  of 
being.  Cf.  Telrach.  (Bohn  169) :  '  The  form  by  which  a  thing 
is  what  it  is.' 


Nous 


129 


Hrtitad*.  The  usual  bodily  condition,  manner  of  beine 
di.po»,t.on.  The  whole  ph-aae  might  be  rendered,  'In 
essentials  and  appearances.' 

87.  84  D.,d  M  to  Uw.  Cut  off  from  civU  rights,  and 
so  legally  reckoned  as  dead.  A  ba„i*ed  subject  was  so 
regarded. 

88.  4.  Wu  no  more  to  ipare,  etc.  That  the  king  was 
not  above  the  law,  but  subject  to  its  penalties,  if  a  male- 
factor, has  already  been  asserted  in  this  pamphlet  This  is 
ilso  one  of  the  leading  theses  of  the  First  Def.  See  also 
Etkon.  (Bohn  1.  360;. 

38.  S.    Obnoxiont  to  the  dooms  of  law. 
Obnoxious  to,  liable  to,  exposed  to.     This  was  formerly 
the  prevailing  use  of  the  word.    Cf.  Eikm.  (Bohn  1.398): 
Wholly  obnoxioi's  to  his  will.' 

Doomt,  a  judgment  or  decision,  especially  one  form.illy 
pronounced  and  adverse  to  the  accused. 
^^^''\.  ™*  ""  oon'M^on  at  Hew-,ort.  On  Sept.  18, 
1B48,  the  Commissioners  chosen  by  parliament  met  King 
Charles  at  \ewport,  in  the  Isle  of  Wight,  and  presented 
the  same  propositions  which  were  placed  before  him  at 
Hampton  Court.  The  first  proposition,  to  which  MUton  refers 
was  also  presented  to  the  king  at  Newcastle.    The  ,ble 

runs:  'Whereas  both  Houses  of  the  ParUament  of  England 
have  been  necessiuted  to  undertake  a  war  in  their  just  and 
lawful  defence.'  Charles  objected  to  subscribe  to  such  a 
statement,  as  he  saw  clearly  that  it  would  be  a  confession 
of  his  own  guilt.  After  debating  the  matter  for  a  week 
he  withdrew  his  objection,  but  stipulated  that  nothing  to 
which  he  agreed  should  have  any  vaUdity,  unless  a  complete 
understanding  were  arrived  at  on  every  point,  and  thus 
convmced  himself  that  whatever  concessi  -  he  might  make 
would  be  merely  nominal.  As  Charles  nad  hmself  no 
expectation  that  an  understanding  could  ever  be  reached 
he  was  thus  enabled  to  promise  whatever  he  found  con- 
venient, without  regarding  himself  as  in  any  way  bound  b-/ 
his  word.  As  nothing  came  of  ■  e  negotiations  at  Newport, 
Milton  s  argument  that  Charles  confessed  to  'he  truth  of  the 


1!. 


% 


ft  If      »-| 

II   1 

i  i 


13°  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magiilratei 

thrice-repeated  charge  is,  to  say  the  least,  far  from  Mtu- 
fiictory.  See  S.  F.  Gardiner,  Hisl.  of  Ike  Great  Civil  H'tr 
8.  472.  For  the  full  text  of  the  tint  proposition,  see  Rushworth, 
Hist.  Coll.  6.  809.  See  also  Neale,  Hist,  of  Pur.  2.  81,  and 
Marsden,  Later  PUriUuti,  p.  280.  Cf.  First  Def.  (Bohn  i.  201) : 
'  At  the  treaty  in  the  Isle  of  Wight  the  king  openly  took 
upon  himself  the  guilt  of  the  war,  and  cleared  the  parUa- 
ment  in  the  confession  he  made  there,  which  is  publicly 
known.' 

88.  10.  Ahab.  See  1  Kings  22.  A  stock  iUuatration  of 
a  wicked  king  disobeying  God.  'As  we  reade  of  wicked 
Achab,  who  crediting  the  flattering  couselle  of  the  false  pro- 
phetes,  disobeyed  God  in  contt^ning  the  trueth  tolde  hi  by 
Micheas :  but  to  his  owne  destructio '  (Goodman,  How 
Superior  Powers  ought  to  be  Obeyed,  p.  126). 

Antioohna  IV.  Epiphanes  (B.  C.  175-164).  He  decreed 
that  in  religion,  law,  and  custom  all  his  people  should  be 
one.  This  edict  met  with  serious  opposition  in  Judsea,  for 
the  observance  of  the  Sabbath,  circumcision,  and  abstinence 
from  pork  and  othci  jnclean  foods,  were  forbidden  under 
penalty  of  death.  By  command  of  Antiochus,  offerings  were 
made  in  the  temple  to  Jove,  and  the  courts  were  polluted 
by  indecent  orgies.  Mattathias,  a  Jewish  priest,  and  Judas 
Maccabaeus,  his  son,  organized  a  rebellion. 

Goodman,  and  other  Protestan'  preachers,  were  in  the 
habit  of  holding  up  the  name  of  Antiochus  as  a  specimen 
of  a  wicked  idolatrous  king. 
38.  12.  Meroi.  See  Judg.  S.  23.  See  also  S4.  2. 
38.  12.  Heroz  Cnraed :  a  sermon  preached  to  the  Hoiuw 
of  Gommoiu  Feb.  88,  1141,  by  Stephen  Marshall.  Speaking 
of  this  sermon,  Clarendon  says  that  '  the  preacher  presumed 
to  inveigh  against,  and  in  plain  terms  to  pronounce  God's 
own  curse  against,  all  those  who  came  not  with  their  utmost 
power  and  strength  to  destroy  and  root  out  all  the  malig- 
nants  who  in  any  degree  opposed  the  Parliament '  ^..'■/ts<.  of 
the  Rebellion  6.  40). 

Christopher  Love,  pastor  of  Ann,  Aldersgate,  and  one  of 
the  Sion  House  ministers  who  issued  the  tract  in  defence  of 


Nous 


>3' 


publ„hed  a  «rmon  in  which  Charle.  wa,  denounced  a»  an 
Achan,  whon,  ,he  Lord  cut  o«  because  he  troubled  braeh 

rr„Ji?T1*  *  ""'■  ""'  '""'■  Sute.Phy,ician.  would 
r«emble  God,  to  cut  off  tho.e  from  the  I^nd  who  ave 
di-emperd  .t;  meliu.  e,t  ut  pereat  unu,  quam  unital' 
[•-^nco-ClassKum  pp.  9  and  64) 

we^elr''lT  "' ">« '"'"''X''™"  ""nister,:  'When  you 
Z  ...^d^     P"''»">em  against  the  King  and  his  forces, 

etc  (Tp.  2?)  '  ^'^  *'"  ^"•'P""'^''  <^""'-^«  *''"'' 
(M^^tk^'"!^^""-  '"  ""'^"™'  «'"'^»  »  fiilmination 
fomal  «suu,g  of  condemnation,  c  .ensures  by  The  pope  or 
other  ecc  es,ast,cal  authority.  Milton  is  really  using  the  word 
here  m  .ts  early  sense.  The  Presbyterians  are,  therefore 
compared  with  the  pope.  'nereiore, 

rh^.?^'  '™"""»  ^^•"'P""*-  The  form  of  Presbyterian 
church  government,  agreed  upon  by  the  Ass  nbly  of 
d,vmes  at  Westminster.  According  to  the  discipli  devised 
by  the  Westmmster  Assembly,  ignorant  and  .andalous 
f*™™  """  '°  "«  »"»P«'"d«d  from  the  sacrament  of  the 
^/rl  ,''  ^  ""^i"ed  ""ner  e:ipressed  godly  sorrow 
and  repentance,  and  subm-ted  to  the  censure  of  the  eldership, 

hardened  m  h»  sm,  he  was  to  be  excommunicated.    Milton 

ff  .he'f  *''' '''= ''"'"yt-'ri^-^  had  absolved  Charies  in  spite 
of  the  fact  that  he  remained  unrepentant. 
38.  28.    Mintaters  of  KKUtion.     Hugh  Peters  advised  the 

«mt1on.7T"V'/''  ''"'^"'  '"  ''*"'=  "P  ««=  P^opi-^  to 
sedition    {Cknco-Chssicum,  p.  11). 

38.  82.  Cem  not  to  Incite  othe™.  In  1648  the  Pre* 
bytenan  pulpits  were  ringing  with  invectives  against  the  army. 
In  a  tract  Ctenco-Classicum  or  The  Ckrg.alhLm  to  a  TMrd 
,^rU*"  ^T", '°  ""  ^'^  """^  •"'='■  J-^hn  Price  declare. 
,  U  r  A  """'"'^"^  *""  "'""e  their  opponents 
an  ™„  A™^'  '  ^™"'"'™  "'  ^'P"''  =»  vipro^brood, 

an  oppressing  Army,  an  Army  of  Hereticks,  a  Schismatical 


:   ill' 

wt 


■  3*  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Mapstrates 

Anny,  an  Army  whose  lives  are  not  worth  a  prayer,  and 
whose  deaths  are  not  worth  a  teare'  (p.  7). 

Cf.  First  Drf.  (Bohn  1. 192) ;  '  They  [the  Royalists]  had  on 
their  side  most  of  the  shopkeepers  and  handicraftsmen  of 
London,  and  generally  those  of  the  ministers,  that  were  most 
factious.' 

39.  5.  Erected  minds.  Erected,  active,  attentive.  Cf.  Sid- 
ney, Apol.  Poetrie,  ed.  Arber,  p.  26 :  '  Our  erected  wit,  maketh 
us  know  what  perfection  is.*  Cf.Areop.:  *  Our  thoughts  more 
erected.* 

39.  9.    Angry  with  the  Jewa.    1  Sam.  8. 

89.  13.  His  omi  ancient  goverment.  A  theocracy  whose 
leaders,  Moses  Joshua,  Samuel,  governed  according  to  the 
direct  inspiration  of  God. 

39.  17.  Other  Nation,  Although  the  struggle  in  England 
was  looked  upon  with  great  interest  by  European  nations, 
there  was  at  this  time  no  similar  upheaval. 

39.  21.  Other  ample  antority.  Referring  to  the  evidence 
which  he  has  adduced  in  this  pamphlet,  the  sayings  of  such 
princes  as  Trajan,  Lewis  the  Pious,  and  Leo  the  Isaurian. 

39.  23.  That.  Later  editors  insert  thty  before  this  pronoun. 
That,  however,  might  refer  back  to  people  (1.  8). 

39.  SO.  To  dispose.  To  ordain,  to  appoint,  to  make  ar- 
rangements. 

To  osconomize,  to  act  as  the  governor  of  a  household. 
Milton  uses  the  word  literally,  from  otxos,  house  -H  v6/ioi, 
from  vifittv,  to  manage.    Cf.  S.A.  17^. 

'  Suarez,  the  Jesuit,  riseth  up  against  the  royal  authority 
of  Adam,  in  defence  of  the  freedom  and  Uberty  of  the  people; 
and  thus  argues  :ByrightofCreation  (saith  he)  Adam  had  only 
oeeotiomical  power  but  not  political  (Filmer,  Patriarcha,  p.  31). 

40.  4.  Tenure  and  ooonpstion.  Land-tenure  in  England 
is  in  the  main  feudal,  that  is,  the  person  possessing  or  oc- 
cupying the  land  holds  it  from  a  superior  According  to  the 
English  theory,  all  land  is  held  of  tiie  king,  either  mediately 
or  immediately. 

Oocnpstion,  actual  holding  or  possession  of  land,  tenure, 
occupancy. 


n^ 


Notes 


'33 


^nfiif^'  ■^«'"»<»1T"™J'«™  written.  Piynne,  Walker 
and  the  authors  of  the  Sion  Home  tracts.    See  27.28 

Pr^esSt^H*"'*  *'"''•    *".•>«"<»-    Refers  either  to 
f  rotestant  kingdoms  or  to  writeis  of  pamphlets. 

whL'*!,'"'*'  "i*^'  ""*"  'o  ■"•  *'<=■    A  clever  epigram  by 

inrfilf  .K       u    ''  ^'^  *"•    ■^^  '""^  »"d  mood  would 
Jhfkil^.         '"  ""^"P"  *=^  *""-  "«'»«  *e  .rial  of 

M.1  on     He  uses  ,t  some  18  times  in  P.  L.    Milton  was  sure 
that  he  was  engaging  in  a  great  cause. 
41.  12.     To  havook.      Havoc    was   originally   an   army 

rV  ■«/  ;?  /  ^"^  ^'"'°"''''  *"''  '^'  »"P  *«  dogs  of  war.' 
a"   Xf?  '"  ^"^-  ^""■■'-  "  ''''■■  ■*  "^^   ---^ 

for^Lfl^TT'  O*"- -«P""  dialect  EarUer  name 
ittT^Go^  he  Genevan  Bible  (1660),  Prov.  6.  6  is  trans- 
lated,    Goe  to  the  p,ssmu-e,  O  sluggard.'     The  word  was 

Itrherr""'^'"'"*^'"'"''^  contemptuously  to  per- 
Cf.  Ready  md  Easy  Way  (Bohn  2.  118):  'Not  so  much 
rrflT"'"'  ""''^'^•^■""K  '"  them  as\  pismire.'  He 
men  nf  T'T  *!.  ^"""P'"  "^  '"Pn'dent  and  m«oven.ed 
men  of  a  frugal  and  self-governing  democracy  or^ommon- 
wealth.  See  also  Eiion.  (Bohn  1.  496). 
41.  22.    Unfonable  things.     Another  plea  for  Uberty  of 

2  620  if.).  He  d.d  not  believe  that  the  church  should  borrow 
the  arm  of  c.v.l  power  to  force  men  to  subscribe  to  any 
church-dBciphne.    See  Observ.  Art.  Peace  (Bol.n  2. 186). 

KnoUea^  H.sl.  Turks,  p.  647:  -Beware  that  by  their  wily 
dnfts  thou  pensh  not'    Cf.  To  Rem.  Hire.  (Bohn  &  29)  • 


134  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrate! 

'  His  political  drifts  or  conceived  opinions ' ;  Eiion.  (Bohn  2. 
308) :  The  cunning  drift  of  a  factious  and  defeated  party.' 

41.  24.  Worst  of  mem.  The  reference  here  seems  to  be 
to  the  prelatists  of  the  Laudian  type,  who  would  force 
ritualism  and  ecclesiastical  courts  upon  the  people. 

41.  2S.  To  dart  againat.  The  usual  expression  is  'to 
dart  at.'  The  Presbyterians,  he  tells  us,  are  throwing  into 
the  ranks  of  their  own  brethren,  the  Independents,  the  mis- 
used laws  and  texts— darts,  which  have  been  discharged 
against  themselves. 

41.  28.    Halignants.    See  27.  30. 

41.  31.  Either  extreame  passion,  or  apoatacy.  This  use 
of  the  enemy's  weapons  can  be  explained  only  in  one  way, 
either  the  Presbyterians  have  given  way  to  bad  temper,  or 
they  have  become  tum-coats. 

41.  3S.  Thir  liherty  to  bind  other  men's  consciences. 
Cf.  Areop.  (Bohn  2.  90). 

41.  1.  Brotherly  accord.  For  a  moment,  Milton  harks 
back  to  the  mildness  of  the  first  sentence  of  this  paragraph. 
After  all,  the  Presbyterians  are  brothers  in  their  opposition 
to  prelacy  and  papacy.  The  Independents  are  anxious  to 
live  at  peace  with  them.  Although  Cromwell  and  his  party 
resolutely  upheld  liberty  of  conscience,  they  tried  to  placate 
the  Presbyterians.  See  a  pamphlet  issued  by  order  of  par- 
liament on  2Bd  of  September,  1649,  DeclaraUon  of  the  Par- 
liament in  the  t^itidicoHon  of  their  Proceedings,  which  makes 
a  friendly  appeal  for  the  support  of  the  Presbyterians.  For 
various  acts  and  votes  which  followed  up  this  declaration 
see  Masson,  Life  4. 123.  In  Observ.  Art.  Peace  (Bohn  2. 193), 
Milton  argued  that  toleration  in  religious  matters  was  not 
against  the  Covenant. 

42.2.  An  old  and  perfet  enemy.  Stem,  MH^m  und  seine 
Zeit,  1.  440,  identifies  the  old  and  perfect  enemy  (alien, 
schlauen  Feind)  with  the  king. 

42.  9.    Princes.    See  Ps.  146.  8. 
41.  11.    Stories.    Histories. 

41.  12.  Christism.  Christiem  II.  (1613-1623).  See 
Buchanan,  Hist,  of  Scot.,  Book  20, 1.  601 :  'Of  late,  Christiem, 


Notes 


■35 


King  of  Denmark,  for  his  cruelty,  was  forced  out  of  the 
kmKdom.  w.th  all  his  famUy,   which  surely  is  a  greater 

oHhtrC'T" ""' "'  °"  ^'"''^ ''"  '"^^  -■»"  -y 

According  to  De  Thou,  Hisl.  Univ.  1.  50,  where  the  ston- 
told,  this  event  took  place  in  1620.  He  places  the  number 
ho«  slaio  at  seventy.four.  See  also  Mallet,  Hist,  de  Damn. 

.2  18.    Maximilian    Emperor  of  Germany  (1498-1519).   In 

iuied  W,  r  ""  ^  T"'  "■"'^  '"  ^'™"'  '^'^^^  Maximilian, 
kUled  h.s  German  kmghts,  and  put  to  death  his  supporter^ 

erl  ■'  ''„  """  ""P"°'  ™=  •""^^O  '"  ™^«  '■"■SJiating 
erms  m  order  to  .save  his  own  life.  He  took  a  solemn  oath 
m  the  Bruges  market-place  to  observe  the  conditions  imposed 

,oiZ  rV  .u  "  ''*  "^"^^  ^"  ""^  "='^'^«'  ^hen  he^ad 
tw  t  "'^^.'^"'"^anny,  he  wrote  to  the  officials  of  the  city 
ftat  he  d.d  not  mtend  to  abide  by  the  terms  which  had 
been  forced  upon  h.m.  Five  years  later  he  reduced  Bruges 
to  subiection,  exacting  an  indemnity  of  80,000  gold  crowns 
«,d  executing  many  of  the  leading  citizens,  lee  Boulger; 
ntst.  of  Belgium,  pp.  262  ff. 

K^l  ?'  """^  "■""«="  «t  f'™-  The  massacre  of  St. 
Bartholomew,  Aug.  24,  1572. 

f„»*if  !f ■  '^^'^'>^'  Pewe-  In  1572,  Charles  IX  effec- 
uaUy  deceived  Coligny  and  the  Protestant  party  by  sendi^ 
letters  patent  mto  all  parts  of  the  kingdom  [n  which  Z 
pmsed  the  fidelity  of  the  Protestant  prfnces,  and  en^ned 
fte  authorities  to  enforce  the  edict  which  he  had  given  in 
fevor  of  the  reformed  religion.  Their  suspicions  bei^  lulled 
by  these  -narl^  of  the  king's  favor,  the  Protestants  weTe  lured 
to  Pans,  and  the  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew,  so  carefiillv 
planned,  took  place,  Aug.  24,  1572.  Milton  probably  read 
De  Thou  s  pages  describing  the  king's  treachery.  See  Histoire 
Umverse/ie  6.  389-415.  "•=<:  nismte 

In  his  chapter  on  treaties  of  peace  and  alliance,  Bodin 

Defers  toaHr°";  "'^'^^^'^^  "^  S^oA  faith.  He  says  he 
prefers  to  adduce  foreign  instances,  rather  than  those  at  home 
*hich  he  would  wish  to  be  buried  in  everlasting  obS^! 


III 


\    1] 


'36  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 

t'J^X"'^  ^T^  "  ^'•-  "^^"'■"^  '^•226,  points  out 
U^t  Bodm  «  probably  aUudi,^  ,o  the  day  of  St  BarS,olo™ew. 
aee  Bodin,  De  Repub.,  chap.  6. 

n  «■  ?r  ?•  r*""""  "™lty-  See  Cmmmplace  Book. 
p.  64 .    Carolu,  6tus  multa.  protestantium  civitates  hi,  imddii^ 

1  Tp   1?"^         ""''  ™"'^''"'     ■^'^-  *^'^'-  ^"''*"'' 

.hfi^'-  .fl^   ^Belgium-    Referring  to  the  straggles  of 

tlfr^\  «'"'^''"'^  '^'^  ^P^  •«  achieve  religious 
freedom.    See  Boulger,  /&/.„/ S,^i,^  pp.  ago  ff 

In  Naples.  In  1647,  the  NeapoliUns  rebelled  against  the 
power  .f  Spam  because  of  her  oppression.  Under  the 
leadership  of  a  Sherman,  AnieUo,  nicknamed  Masamello,  the 
revolt  succeeded  for  a  time.  While  it  was  at  its  height  the 
representatives  of  Spain  promised  unta:ied  fruits  and  other 

the  leader  of  he  revolt  was  killed,  and  when  it  appeared 
to  subside.  Although  the  Duke  of  Guise  came  to  ^e  the 
place  of  Masamello,  the  city  was  betrayed  into  the  hands  of 
the  Spaniards  in  Apnl,  1648.  With  customary  perfidy,  Spain 
dealt  out  pumshment  to  Naples,  instead  of  Uving  up  to  W 

8rdTch?;^6'-^"''"" '-'-  «'^'^-'".  cha; 

42.  84.    Twi»  ppomiB-d.    See  1  Sam.  24.  16-22;  26  21 
43.3.    Tho«  enemies    The  prelatists  and  royalists. 

43.  12.  OfBoe  of  good  Pastors.  Milton  was  lavish  with 
advice  to  ministers  to  mind  their  own  affairs.  Cf  Ammad. 
^«.Def.  (Bohn  8.  78),  To  Re„,.  Hire.  (Bohn  8.  ^"^ 
Ref.  m  Eng.  (Bohn  2.  393).  ' 

48    15.     Huddl'd   up.     Hurriedly   and   carelessly   thrown 

1  C^lT^t  H.^?"'^  ™*™'  °"^"-     Cf-  ^>"»>  (Bohn 
1. 488):  •  I  shall  huddle  him  [the  chaplain],  as  he  does  prayers.' 

43.  16  A  whole  1«7  week.  For  an  attack  on  Presbyterian 
divmes  for  lazmess  see  Observ.  Art.  Peace  (Bohn  2.  196). 
He  caUs  them  •  prod«al  misspenders  of  time.'     \nother  vivid 

2"8^rSeVi?iXoT''"''^  "^-^  '^  ^-"  '"  ^^"'-  («»-" 


Notts 


'37 


Phn«e.    Cf.  .The  hurpy  ,he»  itl  T  "  '""""^ 

parti«M.    Both  words  arm       '^"°""  "  ™e<i<ile«)me 
«e«.ons  and  jail  deliveries  ■     ZT  f  P^""'*!  voice  at 

"*'^,  and  quoS'oid  T«3e^;?  "r"^'  '^'™«  ^^^'ed  it 
HnraUtie,.    See  fcfrod  '««»« applicable  to  both. 

wSieri;L*°coZ£!'td'J:''^"""^  °f  °™-  « 
revise  the  articles  rrari''  """""  "  *«^»  '<> 
directory  of  pubUc  worsh  n  a„5  '.""'"''""'  "^  f^*-  " 
emment.  ""'P'  *"''  *  ^^^eme  of  church  gov- 

^^:r^:^'nfS:sr''"i?i'^"'«^"'«-»*- 

began  to  prod  and  bese^h  r?"*'  ^^^e  divines,  he  says, 
of  the  saliy  question  '^     """'"'  ^°''^'''^  "settlement 

be;.?"'tfi:d'tf;^7;-7,'-'^'-n,e,thePa^^^^^^ 

kind  or  another,  S^crberTs  r,tSi  ,k^'^™"'"  "'  0"e 
his  brethren  went  un  to  wA  ■'  ''  ""*  Lord-Mayor  and 
of  .ome  of  the™  aTd  a  wCnT  *!"  ^  «P^-e"'="ion 
»/  Ar.  2.  86).  "^    "°"  **"■  «'^ress '  (Neale,  //,i,. 

comtLl^'';;!-  -iiS:^^^^^^  ='-^]  P-  'He 
removals  fiom  day  to  dav  ^Ti?       T  ^"K^entations  and 

-en  to  act  for  them  ctS^rfhiT.  ^^■"*'^'^"'''^'"»' 
and  r  .titions  godirieZi  "'"^^'''f  '"  Aeir  certificates 
Ckrgy  i„  M«fc^;i"^'^^,:"l°f''odox   divines'    (7->i, 

Presbyterian  Clergy  uJriL'  7"*  ""'  ^~'''«  °/  ">' 

R'f-  in  E„g.  2.  iU)     "tT^  ^'^r""'""'  P-  41).     Cf  Of 

«-2.    TSth«  „H  „M*?^  ^"^  P'"'''^'- for  fees.'  ^ 

3.34).       ^*'"  ""  »W»t.on..     a.  To  Re„.  Hire.  iBoU, 


m 


"38  The  Tenure  cfKin^s  and  Magistrates 

By  the  ordinance  of  Nov.  16,  ;846,  'aU  tithes  appropriate, 
oblations,  obventions,  and  portions  of  tithes,  etc.,  belonging 
to  the  said  archbishops,  bishops,  and  others  of  the  said  hier- 
archy ;  all  which,  together  with  £  30,000  yearly  rent  belonging 
to  the  crown,  they  reserve  for  the  maintenance  of  preaching 
ministers '  (Neale,  Hisl.  Pur.  2.  36). 

Rev.  John  Goodwin,  in  The  Novice  Presfyler  Instructed, 
painU  the  comfortable  condition  of  the  Presbyterian  clergy 
much  as  Milton  does,  although  he  does  not  accuse  them  of 
double  livings:  'Is  not  the  whole  English  element  of  church- 
livings  offered  up  by  the  state  to  their  service  ?  Are  not 
all  the  benefices  of  the  kingdom  appropriated  to  their  order  ? 
And  all  others  thrust  out  of  doors  to  make  room  for  them '  ? 
(quoted  by  Neale,  lb.  2.  46). 
Ocuble-Un'd  themaelrsB.  Accepted  two  or  more  benefices. 
44.8.  Places  of  commoditif).  Positions  of  selfish  benefit, 
profit,  interest.  Cf  Reas.  of  Ch.  Govt.  (Bohn  2.  474) :  '  To 
their  great  pleasure  and  commodity.' 

44.  S.  Consistory.  Original  meaning  in  Latin  was  standing 
place,  waiting-room,  whence  meeting  place  of  the  emperor's 
council,  the  emperor's  cabinet.  Later  it  was  used  to  signify 
meetings  of  ecclesiastical  bodies,  such  as  the  pope's  senate, 
or  a  bishop's  court ;  in  the  Reformed,  Genevan,  or  Presbyterian 
polity,  a  court  of  presbyters.  According  to  Milton,  the  con- 
sistory was  equivalent  to  the  Scotch  kirk-session.  The  minister, 
'  each  in  his  several  charge,'  presides,  and  he  and  his  elders 
and  deacons  adjudicate  upon  questions  of  discipline  which 
concern  the  members  of  the  congregation.  Cf  Reas.  of  Ch. 
Govt.  (Bohn  3.  i65l:  'Every  parochial  consistory  is  a  right 
homogeneous  and  constituting  part,  being  in  itself,  as  it  were, 
a  little  synod.' 

44.  9.  To  beUy  cheare.  To  feast  luxuriously.  When  the 
Presbyterian  ministers  met  at  Sion  College,  they  not  only 
talked  politics,  promoted  designs,  i.  e.,  discussed  ways  and 
means  of  fiirthering  the  ends  of  their  denomination,  but 
refi-eshed  the  inner  man  as  well.  Cf  Animad.  Rem.  Def. 
(Bohn  8.  81) :  'A  race  of  Capemaltans,  senseless  of  divine 
doctrine,  and  capable  only  of  loaves  and  belly-cheer.' 


Notes 
(Bot  f  Cs";:-*  "'^'^-  "'  '"«  --fed  Chaplain  i„  J" 

-  week  in  Sion  Coul"  in  Lt' „T™°''  "«'"'''y  ««'« 
S:  n  College  the  PrXerfL  ^^  J""  '**^-"»''-  """" 
-Serious  andFaitk^^^^Tl'^^  "™"^ «""» 
probably  refers  to  Ce  w A^^'  "!:,.  ^^  «P**«'  here 
of  London,  1666,  •  S^  CoSe  •  t"T^ '°  ^''*'»  ""P 
Cripplegate  Stree,  and  Ph^  W.  '"  *«  comer  of 

44.  16.    The  Printed  laH^.      a 
to  the  sententioiLstytea^dT"     ^  co„temph,ou,  reference 

of  tk.  Gospel,  anfp^btl  ,h!  2^"*'*.  f  '*'  ^^"^ 
of  Lancashire.  ^         *  '"'=*  '""^d  by  the  ministem 

the  intolerance  of  the  Pr«w  'T"**-    ''or  an  account  of 

2.44.  especially  the  ext^^'C!^'  -'/""^'  ""''  '''^■ 
of  Jesus  CtriJl.  ■"  '^  ^"*»«»!»'  to  ae  Truth 

44.  23.    Keroi.    See  46. 17 

«;  «•'  SraX'^"'*R:\?^'  "/'•*■'• «"-.  etc. 

«ntence.  The  ciMoSTT'™  ^h  "  '°  '''^  ="*"«  '"  the 
«y.,  will  prove  that  fte  plht  '"•""'  "'''™'=".  ^e 
profess  to  be-true  '^'::^T'£^  ^  -  what  they 

18otMUton'"p!t- «  fr^l>    '"  .-^A"-  S^ct.  (Bohn  3. 

gxitanL^ftife  b"^*  tho  taTsas""";'"  T""  '"  *« 
of  Thomas  Mnnzer,  adianced  L  f  \  "  """"*'^="'"P 
ohould  be  had  in  c^mmr   s,- 1  T  *"'  »"  «°°^ 

the  Munzerians.  "H^e  i™^'"  "'^""■'''""'vice  to 
-esoUnceto'"thtS:'S^s,"S:d"r-t 


1 


'I 


'4°  The  TtHure  of  Kings  and  Magisiraus 

all  vengeance  to  himself,  and  the  Scripture  conunandi  in  to 
obey  the  magirtrate,  though  he  be  wicked ' ;  aI»o, '  It  i<  indeed 
the  duty  of  Christians  to  suffer  and  bear  the  cross,  not  to 
resist,  revenge,  nor  smite  with  the  sword'  (Bk.  S,  p.  98). 
When  Luther  had  answered  the  Socialists,  he  addressed  like- 
wise a  monitory  to  the  princes  and  nobility,  pointing  out  to 
them  the  folly  of  their  course  in  grinding  the  faces  of  the 
poor.    It  is  in  the  course  of  his  warnings  that  be  uses  the 
words  quoted  by  Milton:  'For  this  is  now  the  present  sute 
of  affairs,  that  men  neither  can,  nor  wiii,  nor  indeed  ought 
to  suffer  our  arbitrary  rule  any  longer.'    Further  on  he  says: 
'For  my  part,  I  have  fi-om  the  very  first  always  taught 
modestly,  abhorred  all  seditions,  and  earnestly  exhorted  the 
people  to  obedience  to  their  Magistrates;  nay,  and  advised 
them  too,  to  bear  with  your  wicked  and  tyrannical  Domi- 
nations '  (p.  94).     In  spite  of  Luther's  advice  to  the  people 
the  Boors  aros(  iu  armed  rebellion.    'Then  published  Luther 
another  Book;  wherein  he  exhorted  and  incited  all  men  to 
hasten  to  the  destruction  of  those  villanous  Traytots,  Robbers 
and  Parricides,  as  they  would  run   to  the  quenching  of 
a  publick  Fire.— He  tells  the  Magistrates  that  they  should 
not  scruple  nor  fear  to  set  upon  and  suppress  that  Seditious 
Rabble :  That  it  was  properlj  their  Duty  to  do  so :  Nor  was 
it  lawful  only  ;6r  them,  but  also  for  every  private  Man,  by 
any  way  whatsoever  to  kill  a  Rebel,  because  Rebellion  was 
the  greatest  of  Evihi  that  could  happen  in  a  State '  (p.  98). 
It  can  be  seen,  therefore,  that  in  this  place  Milton  is  com- 
mitting the  sin  for  which   he    reproaches  his  opponents, 
wresting  authorities  to  his  own  purpose  in  a  most  unscrupulous 
manner.    If  Milton  had  quoted  from  Luther's  later  writing, 
he  might  have  found  some  justification  for  his  parade  of  the 
&ther  of  the  Reformation  as  an  authority.     In  later  years 
Luther  modified  his  views  on  passive  obedience.    He  was 
obliged  to  admit  that  self-defence  sometimes  became  the 
right  of  the  Christian,  and  especially  was  this  so  in  the  case 
of  tyranny  (see  Luther,  Taile  Talk,  trans.    HazUtt,  sec.  828, 
p.  333).   While  teaching  the  duty  of  passive  obedience,  Luther 
frequently  declares  his  contempt  for  princes.    '  They  are,'  he 


Notes 

'And' i„j;rio''rtoChri^  wT^'  !";  *""  ■«"«'  add, 
Milton  omitted  thfa  p^^e^  ft  wo  .H*""'  "^  "*"  Church/ 
P0»e  (Sleidan  14.  2^)     i^^  '^  »"rcely  ,uit  hi.  pur- 

-^^  by  Lutl,er  uHn  lll^'  ^  ^7^'°"  '^'""  "  "«'-  book 

obedience  to  n,.gi,trate.  a^ertl  ^^  "^^  ""  """^l" 
not  to  resist  evil,  but  TuL^nTf      f'  '  '^''"«'«  ""ght 

Criticize  king,,  b„,  in  ,hi,  b  °1  "r*""'""-  Luther  could 
ously  upheld  the  powe  „f  .hetntl "'  '"'""'"■  "^  »'«»■'■ 
M<i_  to  the  people  ^  "  ™P'"'"'  "■  tlie  papacy 

votataou,"^™^  if""""'  Dobeneck  (1480?-1M2)  A 
HewasastoutoT^nemo  Ma."  l"".""""'^  -"  *e' og^t 
He  proposed  a  dZte  o'L^^r  rhe"".'°''""'°™-• 
*' 7"1"i»l"«i  should  be  burnt  alive  """  '''"8  "»' 

«o.  J9.    He  conld  not  stay  the™     h- 
apply  to  hereditary  kings  aho  argument  would 

«6^«9  B"'^g,„^,  tdiL  ti^^^-T'  -"o  -^«d 
He  mpnsoned  captives  within  »  h  ?  '^'•o^'oue  cruelty. 

*e  meui  until  tLy™'^„^  ,~""' ^"^  *- "-ed 
have  wntten  a  series  of  i  „       .  "•     He  was  supposed  to 

'«*  century,  BeSrprov^rttr'^'"^  '^^^™'     I"  '"e 
Hero.    See  5.  29.  fta'these  letterswerea  forgery. 

Swt;'r!for^'^K^„„^!;.f,™".^«'ingli  (1484-1631),  the 

blaze  that  ZwingL  and  c2^l        f  ^  '""«  "P™  "he 
that  we  are  start  blinr^'^"  '''"!  '''^™"«''  "P  '»  us, 
«•  17.      Onana,.  ('^'^"'A :  Bohn  2.  90). 

quoiations  ^oTzVn^^  fefh::  T.     ""^  '"=  «-  «ve 
Schulthess,  1.  42.  880.  ^^^^    '^d.  Schuler  and 


«+i  The  TtHuri  of  Kings  and  Magitlraus 

46.  28.  Ood  is  tlM  otairf  leitdw  in  that  setiOD.  The 
Latin  phreM  'a  Dto  fit  autfice.  Otherwise  the  tnuulation  ii 
litem). 

47.  6.  Bonumna  imperinia,  etc.  See  Optra  8.  498.  The 
title  of  the  letter  ia,  Zaiinglius  Conrath  Somio  el  Simper*) 
Memtmngensi.  Zwingli'a  teaching  on  this  question  is  expressed 
concisely  in  The  Acta  of  the  First  ZUtick  DispuUUiim:  'To 
magistrates  all  Christians  owe  obedience  without  ei^eption, 
in  so  far  as  they  do  not  conunand  that  which  is  contrary 
to  God.  If  they  give  good  advice  and  help  to  those  for 
whom  they  must  account  to  God,  then  these  owe  to  them 
bodily  assistance.  But  if  they  are  unfaithful  and  transgress 
the  Uws  of  Christ,  they  may  be  deposed  in  the  name  of 
God'  (S.  M.  Jackson,  SelecUd  IVorks  of  Zwingli,  p.  118). 

47.  11.    Calvin  (180»-1864). 

47.  12.  Hodie  monarohaa,  etc  See  Calvin,  Pratecliones  in 
LiirumPropluliarumDaHielis,p.eO.  Comment  on  Dan.  4. 26. 

47.  22.  Abdicant  m  temni  prinoipea,  etc.  16.  p.  91. 
This  quoUtion  is  incomplete.  The  original  sentence  is  as 
follows:  'Potius  ergo  conspuere  oportet  in  ipsorum  capita, 
quam  illis  parere,  ubi  ita  proterviunt  ut  velint  etiam  spoliare 
Deum  jure  suo,  &  quasi  occupare  solium  ejus,  acsi  possent 
eum  e  c»lo  detrahere.  Nunc  ergo  tenemus  sensum  hujus 
loci.*    Comment  on  Dan.  6.  26. 

For  Calvin's  advocacy  of  passive  obedience  to  established 
authority,  even  to  the  worst  tyrants,  see  InsliluUs,  chap.  20, 
parts  28  and  31.    See  Introd. 

47.  27.  Bncer.  Martin  Bucer,  the  Alsatian  reformer  (1491- 
1681).  A  Dominican  converted  to  the  reformed  faith  by  the 
writings  of  Erasmus  and  Luther.  In  1622,  as  a  preacher  to 
the  people  of  Wissemburg,  a  free  city  of  Alsatia,  he  attained 
great  success.  Later  he  became  a  pastor  in  Strasburg.  He 
endeavored  to  effect  a  union  between  the  Lutherans  and 
Zwinglians.  In  concert  with  the  landgrave,  Philip  of  Hesse, 
he  also  tried  to  establish  peace  between  the  Protestants  and 
Catholics  of  Germany,  but  without  success.  Invited  to 
England  by  Cranmer  in  1849,  he  became  professor  of  theology 


Nttts 


Ui 


»h«e  Milton  n-emirt^'lJ^-^^  "  "^^"*") 
«•  "•    P«t.r  lUrtyp.    See  80. 12 

g««ari  contra  DeJTtcontr^  a"t  to„e„,  (,i  „o„  d«ista„, 

."ten,  ve.  per  ^^C  eT^^reTe^ri  ^t'^'"™*" 
magi«ratus.  Eriro  hi  reci,  fel,  .  *'*'='"«•  ''el  per  alios 
graaatore,.-   C^vidi,  P^~     T  ■"""  """«"'  «•>'  '°"™t 

authoritie.  (aee  ,».,  p.  aw)  "'*''  *^  ""^tituted 


! 

! 
t   i 


1*4  The  Tenure  ofKingt  ana  Magiilrates 

See  Ritu.  y  C*.  Gml.  (Bohn  2.  497)  where  Milton  ipeak* 
of  '  the  (jrave  authority  of  Pareui,  commenting  that  book ' 
(the  Book  of  Revelation).  Parens  a  ako  quoted  on  divorce 
law  (Bohn  8. 187). 

48.  21.  Knox.  In  Obmv.  Art.  PluKt,  Milton  aays  that 
John  Knox  'Uught  profesaedly  the  doctrine  ofdepoaing  and 
killing  kinga '  (Bohn  2.  186). 

WhoM  larg»  tnatiMa.  See  Knox,  The  First  Blast  of  Ike 
Tmmpel  against  the  Monstrous  Regiment  of  Wonm,  tM2. 
This  book  appeared  in  the  same  year  as  Christopher  Good- 
man's //o»  Superior  Powers  ought  to  be  Obeyed;  and  both 
declare  the  regiment  [govemmentj  by  women  contrary  to 
the  teaching  of  the  Bible.  S-e  alsn  Certain  Questions  Con- 
cerning Obedience  to  Lawful  Magistrates,  with  Answers  by 
Bullinger,  1564  {IVorks  of  Knox,  ed.  Laing,  8.21711.). 

48.  26.  Knox  appeal ;  and  to  the  reader.  The  Afipellaiion 
of  John  Knoxe  from  the  cr^ll  and  most  unjust  sentence 
pronounced  against  him  by  the  false  bishoppes  and  clergy  of 
Scotland,  with  his  supplication  and  exhortation  to  the  nobilitie, 
aiui  comunaltie  of  the  same  realme.  Printed  at  Geneva,  1668, 
In  the  same  volume  is  published  Anthony  Gilby's  An  Admon- 
ition to  England  and  Scotland,  to  call  them  to  Repentance. 
The  summary  of  the  proposed  Second  Blast  of  the  Trumpet 
is  printed  at  the  end  of  the  Admonition,  and  is  headed,  John 
Knoxe  to  the  Reader,  Milton  has  given  the  substance  of  the 
four  brief  points,  the  last  of  which  is  as  follows:  'But  if 
either  rashely  they  have  promoted  any  manifest  wicked 
personne,  or  yet  ignorantly  have  chosin  such  a  one,  as  after 
declareth  himself  unworthie  of  regiment  above  the  people 
of  God,  and  such  be  ill  idolaters  and  cruel  persecuters, 
mosie  justely  may  the  same  men  depose  and  punish  him, 
that  unadvysedly  before  they  did  nominate,  appoint,  and 
electe'  (^IVorks  of  Knox,  ed.  Laing,  4.  689,  640). 

48.  33.  Cartwright.  Thomas  Cartwright  (1686-1608)  was 
the  greatest  preacher  and  writer  among  the  early  Puritans. 
As  professor  of  divinity  in  Cambridge  he  built  up  a  party 
opposed  to  the  constitution  and  hierarchy  of  the  Anglican 
Church.    Driven  firom  his  college  by  the  prelates,  he  visited 


Notes 


«45 


Geneva,  but  loon  returned  to  England  and  became  involved 
in  reUgioua  controveny.  Forced  into  exile  in  1J78,  he  be- 
came mininter  of  churches  in  Antwerp  and  Middelt.urg. 
Returning  once  more  to  EngUnd  in  l«8a,  he  wai  for  a  time 
impriioned,  but  ipent  hU  lait  years  in  affluence  and  peace. 
Aa  an  upholder  of  the  Presbyterian  form  of  church  govern- 
ment, he  waa  the  most  influential  vriter  and  thinker  of  his 
party. 

roner.  Dudley  Fenncr  (l«58?-iS87),  a  celebrated  tutor 
m  Cambridge.  Owing  to  his  support  of  Cartwright's  doc- 
trines, he  waa  obliged  to  leave  the  university  before  taking 
a  degree.  He  followed  Cartwright  to  Antwerp,  where  he 
was  a  minister  of  the  Reformed  Church.  Ketuming  to  Eng- 
land about  1588,  he  became  a  curate  of  the  established 
church,  but,  refining,  to  subscribe  to  articles  drawn  up  by 
Whitgift,  he  was  imprisoned  for  some  months.  On  hia 
release  he  retired  to  Middelburg,  where  he  became  minister 
of  the  Reformed  Church.  Here  he  died  in  168'.  The  work 
cited  by  Milton  was  Fenner's  masterpiece,  in  the  composition 
of  which  he  spent  seven  years.  Fenner  wrote  many  treatises, 
and  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  ablest  of  the  early  Puritan 
apologists. 

49.  1.  Book  of  Theologie.  Sacra  Theologia,  sivi  Veriias 
1WU  est  Secundum  Piilalem,  1588.  With  introductory  epistle 
by  'his  loving  brother,'  Thomas  Cartwright. 

The  quotation  is  from  6.  IS.  81 :  •  Monarchia;  leges  pro- 
priae  sunt.' 

49.6.  Cartwright  in  a  pnSx'dEpiiUe,  etc.  Headdresses 
Fenner  as  •  Omatissimo  et  clariasimo  fratri,  et  in  ministerio 
coUegsB,  Domino  Dudleio  Fennero.'  Cartwright  occupies 
most  of  the  preface  of  eight  small  quarto  pages  in  describing 
the  qualities  of  mind  and  heart  requisite  to  a  great  theologian. 
The  art  of  the  theologian  he  asserts  to  be  the  most  difficult 
of  all  intellectual  pursuits,  and  compares  the  queen  of  the 
sciences  with  other  branches  of  learning. 

49.  9.  Anthony  OUby  (1510-1635?).  Gilby  early  became 
a  pamphleteer,  in  opposition  to  Bishops  Gardiner  and  Hooper. 
During  Maiy's  reign  he  was  forced  into  exile.    He  joined 


1+6  714*  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 

the  English  congregation  at  Frankfort,  and  assisted  in  the 
translation  of  the  Bible,  known  as  the  Genevan  version,  first 
printed  in  1560.  Returning  to  England  not  later  than  1664, 
he  became  vicar  of  Ashby  in  Leicestershire.  Thomas  Fuller, 
in  his  Worthies  of  Enghnd  (Lincolnshire,  p.  167),  mentions 
Gilby  as  being,  after  his  return  from  exile,  '  a  fierce,  fiery, 
and  furious  opposer  of  the  Church  Discipline  established  in 
England.'  In  his  Church  History  Fuller  refers  to  Gilby, 
Whittingham,  and  Goodman  as  the  fierce  (not  to  say  fiirious) 
sticklers  against  church  discipline.  These  three  he  says, 
'  were  certainly  the  Antesignani  of  the  fierce  Non-Conform- 
ists.' Owing  to  dissension  in  the  congregation  at  Frankfurt, 
Gilby,  Goodman,  Whittingham,  and  others,  with  their  families, 
moved  to  Geneva  in  1565.  Here  they  erected  a  church  and 
formed  a  congregation.  Christopher  Goodman  and  Anthony 
Gilby  were  appointed  'to  preach  the  Word  of  God  and 
minystyre  the  Sacraments'  in  the  absence  of  John  Knox 
(Works  of  Knox,  ed.  Laing,  4. 147.  In  the  full  list  of  Gilby's 
works,  catalogued  by  Laing  in  his  Works  of  John  Knox 
(4.  648-560),  no  mention  is  made  of  such  a  title.  The  quo- 
tation must  be  drawn  firom  one  of  the  numerous  books  where 
he  touches  upon  this  topic.  In  his  pamphlet.  An  Admonition 
to  England  and  Scotland  to  call  them  to  Repentance  (re-printed 
in  fiill  by  Laing  4.  663  ff.),  Gilby  takes  the  same  ground  iS 
Knox  and  Goodman. 

49.  12.  £n«rland'«  Complaint  against  the  Canons.  This 
book  is  not  extant.  Neither  the  British  Museum  Catalogue 
nor  the  catalogue  of  the  Thomas  Collection  mentions  it. 

49.  16.  Chiutopher  Ooodman  (1520?-1608).  Professor  of 
divinity  at  Oxford,  he  was  driven  into  exile  by  the  Marian 
persecution,  and  lived  at  Strasbuig.  Afterwards  joining  the 
schism  of  reformers  at  Frankfort,  he  and  other  English  exiles 
withdrew  to  Geneva.  Here  he  and  Knox  became  pastors 
and  close  friends.  Goodman's  tract,  quoted  by  Milton,  was 
published  in  the  same  year  as  Knox's  First  Blast  of  the 
Trumpet  (1668),  and  both  pamphlets  were  circulated  secretly 
in  England.  In  1669  Goodman  went  to  Scotland  on  the 
invitation  of  Knox,  and  became  minister  of  Ayr,  but  preached 


Notes 


•47 


m  vanou,  parts  of  ScoUand.  Later  he  returned  to  England 
«d  became  archdeacon  of  Richmond.  Tried  on  a^ar« 
of  unconformity  in  1571,  he  was  obliged  to  make  a  M 
reca^Ufon  of  his  published  opinions.  L  later  yt^w^ 
spent  m  peace,  and  he  died  at  a  great  age  in  i^ 
Of  Obedience.    The  complete  tiUe  is,  /foa,  Superior  />»»,,. 

l«'fuUy  by  Gods  WorJe  be  disobeyed  and  rested.    ^  ^ 

49.16.    When  King,  or  Bulen.    /4.  chap.  10,  pp.  139-140 

Ib.:J^\f^  ^  "^^  '•"  •  '-l"  "  Miot  bom,  etc' 
/*.  chap.  11,  pp.  143-144.    The  quotation  is  correctly^ven 

49.  83.  No  penon  i.  exempt,  etc.  lb.  chap.  18,  p  184 
Milton  has  suppressed  the  condition  under  which  the  ruW 
I  bet  Sr'-*^*  ''■  ■^"■^  "-"^  -  PHvatel^Loi: 

60.  8.  When  Magiitratea  cease  to  doe  thir  duty,  etc 
The  whole  sentence,  as  it  star.ds  in  the  original,  is  notTuoted.' 
Tm.  "^   unimportant  (.4.,  chap.  18, 

SO.  IS.    If  princes  doe  right,  etc.     'For  this  cause  have 

herem  helpe  you:  and  for  the  same  intent  have  they  taken 
.t  upon  them.    If  they  will  so  do,  and  keepe  promise  wit^ 

^h,S  V.  ,      """=  "  '""■  y™  "=  discharged,  and  no 

t^S"  "elongethto  then,:  because  they  are  not  obediem 

tL  1^1     i  i"t""™'™ '°  P""'*"  *=  '"'^".  ^-d  to  defend 

he  good.    And  therefore  your  study  in  this  case,  oght  to  be 

to  seeke  how  you  may  dispose  and  punishe  according  to  the 

f^ur'aifd       "''"^  "^"""^  "'"'■  '""'  oppressorsXour 

SitrnT^"!;:?  s°"t  "*-  ■^'-^p-  '■■•■  p-  *««)•  notice  Lw 

Milton  has  added  and  suppressed  phrases. 
ch.p.  6,  and  may  be  summed  up  as  foDows- 
an^'^lIrdlTbediTnce.  ^""'"^  '^^"^^  ''°'   '^  >«>'-♦"'• 


1+8 


The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 


(2)  God  requires  his  people  to  choose  such  a  king  as  the 
Lord  doth  appoint,  and  not  as  they  fancy.  We  can  judge 
whether  a  king  is  God's  choice  by  God's  word.    He  should  be 

One  who  hath  the  fear  of  God  before  his  eyes, 
One  hating  all  papistry  and  idolatry, 
He  who  will  promote  God's  laws. 

(3)  The  government  of  women  is  against  nature  and  God's 
ordinances,  for  God  appointed  woman  to  be  in  subjection  to 
her  husband.  The  title  of  the  crown  belongeth  only  by  God's 
word  to  the  heirs  male.    Queen  Mary  is  '  a  bastard.' 

See  Goodman's  partial  recantation  of  some  of  the  doctrine 
of  this  book  in  Strype,  A.sials  1.  184  (vol.  7,  ed.  1824). 

60.  32.  Among  whom  Calvin,  etc.  Although  he  does  not 
make  a  direct  statement,  Milton  tries  to  convey  the  impres- 
sion that  Calvin,  among  others,  sanctioned  Goodman's  book. 
But  Milton  knew  perfectly  well  that  Calvin  would  never 
have  stamped  with  his  approval  such  revolutionary  doctrines. 

50.35.  Whittingham.  William  Whittingham  (1524?-1579), 
a  noted  Oxford  scholar,  was  obliged  to  flee  to  the  continent 
in  the  reign  of  Queen  Mary.  He  became  a  leader  among 
the  Frankfort  exiles.  He  and  Knox  led  an  opposition  party 
against  the  use  of  the  piayer-book.  Owing  to  the  schism 
created^  he  withdrew  to  Geneva  with  Knox,  Goodman,  and 
other  dissentients.  In  1559,  he  succeeded  Knox  as  minister 
in  Geneva,  where  he  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  translation 
of  the  Geneva  Bible.  He  returned  to  England  in  1660,  and 
three  years  later  was  made  Dean  of  Durham.  He  was 
brought  to  trial  by  a  royal  commission  in  1578  on  charges 
of  adultery  and  drunkenness.  Before  any  verdict  was  renderwi, 
he  died  in  1579. 

51.  3.  In  Prefai  'When  M.  Christopher  Goodman,  one 
of  our  ministers,  according  to  the  course  of  the  text,  ex- 
pounded both  faithfully  and  comfortably  this  place  of  the 
Actes  of  the  Apostles,  Judge  whether  it  be  juste  before  God 
to  obey  you  rather  than  God,  certeyne  learned  and  godly 
men  moste  instantly,  and  at  sondry  tymes  required  him  to 
dilate  more  at  large  that  his  sermon,  and  to  suffre  it  to  be 


'I 


Notes 


•♦9 


ShS   ^PP"'"'™""  °"«  held  by  the  ministers  of  the  e^teb- 

I'^'.o'tr.^i".:::  ''"^"  -' "—  *--— 

f;;:r^  Vs'^-holeControversie  aboufsubjei  tfi^ru" 
Armes  Wherein  besides  other  Pamphlets,  an  Answer  is 
punctual,,  .rected  to  Dr.  Femes  Booke,  enli.led  ResTlving 
of  Consaence,  etc.  Published  by  divers  Reverend  and 
Learned  Divines.'    This  book  was  ordered  to  be  printed  by 

thf 'aftL  ^^  "'o-^'  t»  disclaime.  etc.  I„  the  preface, 
■  whe'h™T  '"  .*'''  "ng^gation.  and  sermon 
whether  wee  have  taught  any  thing,  but  humble  and  holy 

they  aTno°t  ^"'r'  ''"'""  ^''*°"'^-  '^^^  <>-'-«  *^' 
In  thr     r  P'T""""^  of  sedition,  not  troublers  of  Israel; 

r  PITS'  "^^  ""^ '°-"  '-^  p^''^'^ "' "-  '''^-  s- 

o{%'n^'J°<  ^^'  soripture,  etc.  An  elaborate  exegesis 
of  Rom.  13    1-7  ,s  given  in  this  pamphlet.    See  pp.  3-6. 

mlr,^  °h  t  V,"  '°  "''P°"'="  "''"  beisenjoined Tn  civil 
"olfnc;  ''"'  ""  ""' '"  ''"  """■"^  '°  ^"f"  •y™-'"- 

62  8  Amerce  him.  To  be  amerced  was  originaUy  to 
be  at  the  mercy  of  any  one  as  to  amount  of  fine;  hence 
the  active  to  amerce,  to  fine  arbitrarUy  or  according  to  one's 

IT  f  r?-  ?"'  "■"  ""•=  ™P''^«'l  "P°"  'he  ^ng  is  the 
loss  of  h.s  kingdom.    Cf  Observ.  Art.  Peace  (Bohnl.  194) 

^o^r^^,^       a-nwce  by  any  corporal  infliction.' 
B^^krd^^K    l°"!°  ""'•     The  rule  of  proportion.    Cf 
Barnard  Smith,  ^r,rt™,&,  p.  isg.   .A^ost  aU  questions 
wmcn  arise  m  the  common  concerns  of  life,  so  far  as  they 


! 


150  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 

require  calculation  by  numbers,  might  be  brought  within 
the  scope  of  the  Rule  of  Three,  which  enables  us  to  find 
the  fourth  term  in  a  proportion,  and  which  on  account  of  its 
great  use  and  extensive  application  is  often  called  the  Golden 
Rule.'    The  same  phrase  is  used  in  Areop.  (Bohn  2.  90). 

52.  26.  Euclid.  Euclid  of  Alexandria,  author  of  the  cele- 
brated work,  Eientents  of  Geometry,  According  to  Proclus 
he  lived  fi^m  328  to  283  B.  C,  and  was  one  of  the  Platonic 
school 

o2.  27.  ApoUoRiu.  ApoUonius  Pergseus,  '  the  great  geo* 
meter,'  was  a  native  of  Pevga  in  Pamphylia,  and  flourished 
in  the  second  century  B.  C.  He  was  author  of  a  treatise  on 
conic  sections  which  is  still  extant 

62.  28.  Being  nndepotable  but  by  themwlves.  'And  this 
Parliament  (what  ever  other  might  bee)  is  not  deposeable 
[dissoluble]  but  by  themselves.  The  Sword  cannot  be  Legally 
taken  from  them  till  they  give  it  up '  {Scripture  and  Reason, 
p.  38).  '  The  parliament  is  bound  in  conscience  to  prevent 
Tyranny,  and  preserve  themselves,  and  Religion,  Lawes  and 
Liberties '  {ib.,  p.  38).  '  They  are  empowered  to  take  away 
the  wicked  from  before  the  king.  The  sword  may  also  be 
taken  out  of  the  hand  of  God's  anointed  till  it  hath  beene 
sufficiently  imployed,  to  punish  those  Malefactors  and  delin- 
quents which  he  should,  but  will  not  strike  with  it,  or  rather 
will  defend  and  imploy.'  In  the  sentence,  however,  we  read 
that  'they  may  Legally  and  Lawefully  take  the  sword  into 
theyr  hands ;  and  doe  not  take  it  out  of  the  Kings,  but  his 
wicked  Followers '  {ib.,  pp.  37,  38).  It  is  this  sort  of  quib- 
bling which  Miltons  condemns. 

52.  32.    Unmagistrate.    Cf.  '  unking  the  king,'  86.  5. 

68.  11.  By  what  rule,  etc.  'By  what  rule  of  conscience 
or  God  is  a  State  bound  to  sacrifice  Religion,  Laws  and 
Liberties  rather  than  endure  that  the  Princes  life  should  come 
into  any  possibilities  of  hazard,  by  defending  them  against 
those,  that  m  his  name  are  bent  to  subvert  them  ?  If  he 
will  needs  thrust  upon  the  hazard,  when  he  needs  not,  whose 
fault  is  that  ? '  {ib.,  p.  19).    See  also  p.  20. 


"11 


N»us 


'S« 


53^16.  Xlie«eMoi«doonMrnmenti.  Religion,  laws,  and 
hberte.     Co^c^rnrntras,   imereste.     To  Rem.  Hire  (Bohn 

63  19  The  Law  of  Nature.  That  which  is  eternal  and 
immutable,  an  embodiment  of  some  universal  human  feeUmr 
Positive  laws  were  composed  ot  human  and  of  divine  statut*. 
See  Grotius,  De  Jure  Belli  1.  8.  8.  and  1.  4.  3.  Cf.  Sec  Def 
CBohn  1  2«),  and  OW.  Ari.  Peace  (Bohn  2.  ,90).  Mi^™ 
alludes  to  Sm;>/«„  and  Reason,  p.  61:  .But  how  humane 
Laws  made  without  or  against  God's  Authority,  can  hinder 
me  h-om  the  liberty  granted  me  by  the  Law  of  Nature,  to 
defend  myself  fiom  outrageous  Violence,  being  altogether  an 
fcnocent  I  cannot  see,  specially  in  a  case  concerning  God's 
immediate  Honour  as  well  as  my  safety.' 

64.  2     A  Judge  or  inferior  Magietrate,  etc.    •  Saint  Peter 
names  Govemours  to  be  submitted  to  for  the  Lord's  sake, 
as  weU  as  the  Supreme '  (Scripture  and  Reason  p.  33). 
54.  6.    St  Peter's  rule.    1  Pet.  2. 13,  I4. 
5^  16.    Li  a  cautious  line  or  two.    '"The  justification  of 
resistance  to  tyranny  is  plainly  urged. 

64.  18.  See  Scripture  and  Kaason.  p.  4.  For  further 
references  to  tyrannical  rulers  and  the  right  of  the  Christian 
to  resist  them,  see  ib.,  pp.  2,  6,  9,  10,  20,  21,  27,  66. 

64.  16     Stuft  in.    Cf.  Reason  of  Ch.  Govt.  (Bohn  2.  481) : 
Men  whose  learning  and  belief  lies  in  marginal  stuffings'; 
^PolSmec-  (Bonn  3.  109):  'His  own  stuged  magazine  and 
hoard  of  slanderous  inventions.' 

64.  22.  For  divines,  etc.  This  passage  represents  the 
nearest  approach  to  humor  in  this  treatise.  It  is  altogether 
one  of  the  happiest  nieces  of  satire  in  Milton's  prose.  See 
Introd. 

54.  23.  Posture  was  formerly  a  military  term,  meaning 
a  particular  position  of  a  weapon  in  duel  or  warfare.  Cf 
Wood  Ath.  Oxon.  2.  262:  'He  learned  ...  how  to  handle 
the  pike  and  musquet,  and  all  postures  belonging  to  them ' 
I.  was  also  applied  to  the  ppearance  of  a  body  of  troops : 
They  are  still  out  ot  the  garrison  in  a  mutinous  posture 


•  52  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 

with  their  arms '  {Henry  Gary,  Mem.  of  Great  Civil  War 
1.  296.  Cf.  Docl.  ami  Discip.  of  Div.  (Bohn  8. 184) :  '  In  such 
a  posture  Christ  found  the  Jews.'  Cf.  Scripture  and  Reason, 
p.  71 :  'To  draw  them  into  such  a  posture  of  defence.' 

Hotiotti.  A  motion  was  each  of  the  successive  actions  of 
which  a  prescribed  exercise  of  arms  consisted.  For  instance, 
according  to  the  manual  of  1760,  the  officers  faced  to  the 
left  about  in  three  moliotu  There  were  also  motions  of  the 
firelock.  Cf.  OfRef.  in  Eng.  (Bohn  2.  366) :  Then  was  the 
priest  set  to  con  his  motions  and  postures.' 

84.  24.  Feats.  Another  military  term.  Feats  of  war  were 
military  duties  or  exercises. 

ArtiUerr-gromid.  In  a  tract,  entitled  Ancient  Military 
Government  of  London,  we  read:  '  Besides  the  forementioned 
Trained  Bands  and  Auxiliary  Men,  there  is  the  Artillery 
Company,  which  is  a  nursery  for  Soldiers,  and  hath  been  so 
about  80  years.  Their  Place,  or  Field  of  Exercise,  formerly 
was  in  the  old  Artillery  Ground,  now  in  Finsbury  Fields.' 
The  Artillery  Company  dates  back  to  1685,  and  the  first  of- 
ficers were  called  Captains  of  the  Artillery  Garden,  from  the 
place  were  they  exercised.  From  the  year  1610  a  weekly 
exercise  of  arms  was  held  in  the  Artillery  Garden  (The 
Antiquarian  Repertory,  p.  269,  London,  1807). 

67.  17.    Commodity.    Cf.  Eikon  (Bohn  1.  316). 

55.  6.  Nimble  motionjsts.  Molionists,  a  word  now  ob- 
solete, was  probably  coined  by  Milton.  In  the  New  Eng. 
Diet.,  the  only  example  of  its  use  is  in  the  present  connection. 

66.  12.  Strook.  An  old  preterite  of  strike.  CI.  P  L.  2 
166,  H.  95. 

66.  14.  Scripture.  An  attack  on  his  opponents,  narrow 
interpretation  of  Scripture  texts.  On  Milton's  owr  use  of 
Scripture,  see  Introd. 

65.  17.  Impotent  conclusions.  In  logic,  every  syllogism 
has  three  propositions— the  major  premise,  the  minor  premise, 
and  the  conclusion.  If  the  conclusion  contains  any  term  that 
has  not  been  used  distributively  in  one  of  »he  premises, 
such  a  conclusion  would  be  impotent  or  invalid. 


Notes 


•53 


SS.  18.    In  tUa  portan.     He  still  retains  the  milit»rv 

65.20.  Like  Jeburide..  Like  the  heathen  enemies  of  the 
Lords  people,  not  real  Israelites,  or  n,r,  ^rs  of  the  priestiy 
mbe  of  Levites.  Although  both  the  ..busi.es  and" 
bezek  were  Canaanites,  the  Bible  is  silent  as  to  whether 
Adombezek  was  their  chief,  as  Milton  implies.  Jebusites  was 
he  name  of  the  local  tribe  which,  in  the  first  centuries  of 

thlf  °""Pf«°"'"'''"^'  "^^  '^"-*'™.  ""«'  its  c^deT 
he  stronghold  of  Zion,  was  captured  under  David.  AUusions 
to  he  mab.hty  of  the  IsraeUtes  to  expel  the  Jebusites  fZ 
their  stronghold  are  found  in  Jos.  16.  63,  Judg.  1  21  a..dT 
Judg^«.  10-12  i,  is  described  as  a  city  of  lireTgners  (/^.^i" 

oi?h;„;„,''*'"^«"";  .S^J-dg.  1.6-7.  The  real  meaning 
o{  a  C^r  v.  r?  "^  "^  '-"''■  Adonibezek  was  ch^f 
iLh       H  '"*"•     ""  *^  "^^'^'^^  "y  'he  tribe  of 

lol^.  «  T  """"'""^  ^y  '■^^'"S  "is  thumbs  and  great 
toes  cut  off.  Accordmg  to  his  boast,  he  himself  had  siXly 
treated  seventy  kings.  "uuny 

t>  this  interesting  and  humorous  Ulustration  from  Scripture 

wh  ch  ^""T  ":'  T  ^'''^"''  '^^'^  •■""  Adonibezek,' 
which  bemg  translated  mean  Christ  and  Charies  I.    The 

that  Charles  IS  the  Lord's  anointed,  instead  of  being  true  to 
their  real  kmg,  Christ,  the  Root  of  David.  But  these  ver^ 
divmes  who  now  cry  up  the  King,  not  long  ago  cut  off  his 
thumbs  and  toes  upon  their  pulpit  cushions^^that  is,  insulted 
his  sovereignty,  cursed  him,  denounced  him,  eto.  (see  i  6) 
as  an  enemy  of  Israel.  '' 

66.  33.  As  the  sonl  of  David  hated  them,  etc.  See 
2  Sam.  6.  6-10,  especially  v.  8 ;  ■  And  David  said  on  that  day 
Whosoever  getteth  up  to  the  gutter,  and  smiteth  the  Jebusites 

r    .  n  ?"".""/  "^  *"'"'•  '*'»'  "=  hated  of  Daii,ts  sou 
he  shall  be  chief  and  captain. 

divltf  T  !r*  "r-*^  ^"^  ^"^  ^^-    Earlier  Protestant 
divmes-Luther,  Calvm,  Zwingli,  Goodman,  Femier,  etc. 


,54  The  Tnuri  of  Kings  «»''  Mapstraits 

66  8.  8ab.p«Utic.l.  Prdaticl,  i"  Milton  and  oth« 
Jfer,  of  hU  tCu  a  ho,.,!,  .enn  for  Ep»copa^^  T^' 
t  .1  .1,.  r.r»iii  here  is  ambiguous.  It  may  mean  ajier, 
r^i  ^\Ztl^Z  more  prXble  meaning  is  .o.^^. 
He  «nnot  caU  the  Presbyterian  faction  out-and-out  supporters 
of  p«C,  but  he  means  to  indicate  that  their  advocacy  of 
dltae  ngkt  and  of  a  tyrannical  church  government  »  m- 
cUning  them  in  that  direction. 

86  11  To -1  inf«ior  Magirtrato  UwfoU.  What  »  un- 
U^  to  a  private  man,  may  be  lawful  for  an  .nfi^nor 
^^te.  Ihis  was  one  of  the  -»y»  '»  '''■.'t,^„^T^ 
ZT^d  others  qualified  their  support  of  the  righU  of  the 

•"m' «.    That  faU  «»d  impad«t  ««rtion.    See  32. 2. 

«-::-^rKd^u::^or.:i"uirec.rrect 

an  ecclesiastical  office  or  religious  ho^,  the  "ght  o^^pre 
«ntation  to  a  benefice  or  living.  OngmaUy  .t  me«.t  Ae 
Xation  to  defend  its  rights,  or  to  be  its  advo^te^t 
Sterne,  Trisiram  Shoniy,  chap.  16:  ■*"-»  ^;*''^^^°™'^; 
donation  presentation,  and  fi-ee  disposition  of  t-  ^<A°^  °^ 
p^t^ie  ofshandy  aforesaid,  and  aU  and  every  the  tenths, 
tithes,  glebelands.' 

Donative-  Benefices  or  Uvings  which  «he  founder  or 
pauon  can  bestow,  and  which  are  exempt  from  the  v^itation 
of  the  bishops  or  their  officers. 

66  83  Induotiom.  The  induction  is  the  ceremony  by 
wWch^he^esbytery.  or  its  representatives,  install  a  new 
minister.  , 

Augmentation..  An  augmentation  was  an  increase  of 
stipTobtained  oy  a  Scottish  pari^  — '  ^  "^^^ 
(p^ess  of  augmentation)  in  the  Court  of  Teinds,  agamst 
the  titular  or  beneficiary,  and  hentors. 

56  85  Priest,  of  BeL  See  the  story  of  Bel  and  the 
Di^of  in  Ae  Apocrypha.     The  priests  of  Bel,  their  wives 


Notes 


>55 


and  children,  had  a  secret  entrance  to  the  great  idol  and 

theTbt?  '"  "^"y  "''-■^  "f ««-.  »heep,  and'Tne  ■:^ade  by 
the  Baby.o™a,«^    Daniel  exposed  their  trick,  to  King  Cyru," 

SeTLT  "^^  ""  ""=  <='"^  "■""«"-«  "•«-«". 

57.  6     Eaia'd  them  to  he  high  u,d  rich  of  poors  uid  b.» 

oTowtirth     r'^'^"^"  '"'^  nonconfor^is?  divin"    wTe 

Hfted  hv  fh  ""'  P""  ^"^  "'^^  ri^cumstances  they  were 

Viol  ^       ™"°^'''  °'  '"^  "^y  '"'"  "igh  and  rich  po! 

Green  tfT\^"M°'  ""=  '""^P-^ents  afe'saidSrb; 
Green,  the  feltmaker,  Marlin,  the  buttonmaker,  Spencer  the 

.rx/e!"^^"'  "■" «'°-''  ^"^ — -  .1^0: 

„/^r  /'^°/7""^'  ^*'  ■5<^*""«"«  5i^'^</,  or  The  Picture 
of  A,  Independents  (1646),  p.  34.  •  It  isl  miracle  or  wonde" 
to  the  sauce  boyes,  bold  botching  taylors,  and  others  most 
audac,™.  uuterate  mechanicks  run  o^t  of  their  shopslto 

oufof^"  !^""'  "'"■  ^^°''"  ^-  *"'  ^  '  ^'^'  f"  'he  most  part 
out  of  extreme  want  and  bad  nurture ' 

mf  ■  f  ;.'^  f»"7-loo>"tB.  Probably  he  means  the  clergy, 
men  of  the  Established  Church  formerly  in  power.  In  anci«, 
..mes,  the  locust  was  a  synonym  for  the  most  awM  g^eed 
and  waste.     For  a  celebrated  description  of  the  ravage  of 

itzi:rTr '  "•  ^^™-'  ""'■"-  <=-^p-  >« 

En^'iBo'^T,^/''  ''''-^  '°  «-  «■  '-^-    «.  O/^./.  in 

67.  11.  Thirimpetnons  ignorance  and  importnmty.  This 
las  cn„c.sm  of  the  di.Ines  for  their  domineering  attftude  to 
parhament,  and  ceaseless  clamors  for  the  estlSishment  of 
he.r  mtolerant  church-system,  is  a  repetition  of  what  he  h^ 
said  over  and  over  again  in  this  pamphlet. 
P 


THE  HISTORY  OF  TYRANNICIDE. 

Milton's  contribution  to  a  history  of  tyrannicide  is,  as  we 
have  said,  the  most  important  that  has  ever  been  made  by 
any  English  author.  The  subject  seems  to  have  escaped  the 
notice  of  later  English  students  of  the  classics,  so  that  it  be- 
comes necessary  for  the  present  writer  to  add  several  refe- 
rences to  those  collected  by  Milton,  and  to  present  the 
material  in  a  more  connected  form. 

In  the  heroic  age  the  Greeks  seem  to  have  been  upholders 
of  the  doctrine  of  the  divine  right  of  kings,  for  they  believed 
that  the  king  was  the  choice  of  the  gods,  and  to  murder 
him  was  an  act  of  sacrilege.'  In  the  course  of  time,  however, 
the  Spartans  instituted  a  regular  tribunal  for  the  trial  and 
punishment  of  tyrannical  kings.  Both  Pausanius  and  Agis 
were  deposed  by  the  ephors  and  the  senate."  Not  alone  in 
Sparta,  but  throughout  Greece,  attempts  at  despotism  became 
common ;  the  isolated  districts  of  a  mountainous  country,  and 
the  isles  of  the  iEgean,  saw  the  rise  of  numerous  small 
kingdoms  governed  by  tyrants.*  The  fickleness  of  the  Greek, 
and  his  natural  love  of  liberty,  made  the  tenure  of  these 
petty  tyrants  exceedingly  precarious,  and  usually  short-lived. 
They  were  frequently  driven  into  exile  by  sudden  revolutions; 
in  Athens  a  law  of  Solon  decreed  the  more  mercifiil  punish- 
ment of  ostracism,  instead  of  death.' 

It  was  not  until  the  murder  of  Hipparchus  by  Harmodius 
and  Aristogiton  that  tyrannicide  became  popular  in  Greece 

»    Obsfrv.  Art,  Piacr  (Bohn  2.  188). 

•  Odyis.  16.  400ff. 

•  Thncydldes,  History,  Bb.  8. 

•  The  rapid  rise  and  fall  of  these  tyrannies,  and  their  great 
number,  may  be  studied  in  the  exhaustive  work  of  H.  G.  Plass, 
Die   Tyrannis. 

•  Plutarch.  Life  of  Solon,  chap.  19. 


Appendix  ij^ 

Although  this  ajsoMination  was  inspired  by  motive,  of  private 
vengeance,  the  deed  of  the  two  friends  became  one  of  the 
peat  tradition,  of  Greelc  liberty,  and  the  murderer,  of  the 
Kn  of  the  iyrant  Pi,i.tratu.  were  henceforth  the  .ubiecU 

.  i  .t  ■?"?''  ""?  '"''  "■*  »«'P'°''»  chUel.  •  To  honor  .hem 
and  their  deacendanU  became  an  article  of  repubUcan  faith  ' ' 
Duruy  draw,  up  a  lUt  of  the  honora  accorded  to  the  two 
heroes;  "  mdudes  a  vase,  a  painting,  two  moneta^,  types, 
and  marble  and  brazen  statues.  'The  Athenian.,'  he  m^s 
represented  the  two  friend,  a.  martyrs  of  liberty,  thev 
erected  statues  to  then,  they  granted  privileges  to  their 
descendants,  wh.ch  the  latter  enjoyed  as  late  «  the  time  of 
Uemosthenes,  and  on  festival  days  they  chanted- 

•I  will  carry  the  sword  ui.der  the  myrtle-branch,  as  did 
^fr\  ^ristogiton  when  they  slew  the  tyrant,  and 
established  equality  in  Athens. 

'Most  dear  Harmodius,  thou  art  not  dead;  doubtless  thou 

l.ve«  m  the  Islands  of  the  Bles«d,  where  are,  they  say 

AchUleu.  the  swift-footed,  and  Diomedes,  the  son  ofTyde,« 

In  the  myrtle-branch  I  will  hide  the  swora,  like  Harmodius 

tTe  tyr™  t°*^'°"'  "        *'  "'^  '""™'  "' A*™'  'h^y  'lew 

r^l^^  *^T  ?*"  '^  ^^"  ™''"^  "PO"  «">>.  beloved  Har- 
modius, and  thme,  Aristogiton,  because  you  have  slain  the 
tyrant  and  established  equality  in  Athens  ' 

thirr/r"'  ''*^''^"''  °"  ""=  ™*'  o*  ««  i^Pired  by 
whether  th^w'^Kr  "'  •y'^""'°'ie;  'I  do  not  know 
whether  the  firat  pubhc  statues  were  not  erected  by  the 
Athenians  and  m  honor  of  Harmodius  and  Aristogiton,  who 
.lew  he  tyrant;  an  event  which  took  place  in  the  same 
year  m  wh.ch  the  kings  were  expelled  from  Rome,    -^l 

j  %ger,  S.rUM^rt„Polm^.k,.  U>  Gr,c,,tch,.U,  R„ain>.  p  5 

Darny,  H^,.  ,f  Gr„u,   trans.    Hlpley,  2.  22.     This  &„/,L' 

or   toniing-song,   has   been  attributed   to  CalUstxah^.    t Tj 

•^  of  the  two  friends,  see  Kennedy,  cv.„™  of  I>^aJ,, 
p2 


I 


158 


The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Mtij^is/rates 


cuitom,  from  a  most  praiseworthy  emulation,  was  afterwt-  'j 
adopted  by  all  other  nations.''  Praxiteles  also  executed  '  two 
tigurea  of  Harmodiua  and  Anstog:iton,  who  slew  the  tjrants.' ' 
Amphicrates  made  a  brazen  statue  of  Leeena.  'She  was 
a  skilful  performer  on  the  lyre,  and  had  so  Ijecome  acquainted 
with  Harmodiua  and  Aristogiton,  and  submitted  to  be  tortured 
until  she  expired,  rather  t'lan  Ijetray  their  plot  for  the  exter- 
mination of  the  tyrants.  The  Athenians,  being  desirous  of 
honoring  her  memory,  without  at  the  same  timj  rendering 
homage  to  a  courtesan,  had  her  represented  unde^-  the  figure 
of  an  animal  (a  lioness),  whose  name  she  bore ;  and,  in  order 
to  indicate  the  cause  of  the  honor  thus  paid  her,  ordered 
the  artist  to  represent  the  animal  without  a  tongue.'  ^ 

So  extravagant  was  the  popular  estimation  of  this  murder 
of  the  son  of  Pisistratus  that  the  Athenians  gave  a  dowry 
to  a  niece  of  Aristogiton,  who  was  living  in  poverty  in  the 
isle  of  Lemnos.*  Even  so  distinguished  an  author  as  Plato 
joined  in  the  chorus  of  approbation :  '  For  the  interests  of 
ru'ers  require  that  their  subjects  should  be  poor  in  spirit, 
and  that  there  should  be  no  strong  bond  of  friendship  or 
society  among  them,  which  love,  above  all  other  motives, 
is  likely  to  inspire,  as  our  Athenian  tyrants  learned  by  ex- 
perience ;  for  the  love  of  Aristogiton  and  the  consUncy  of 
Harmodius  had  a  strength  which  undid  their  pn\.c;  Cal- 
listhenes  relates  that  Philotas,  the  friend  of  Alexander,  asked 
him  one  day  what  person  was  most  honored  by  the  Athenians. 
He  gave  the  names  of  Harmodius  and  Aristogiton,  because 
they  had  destroyed  tyranny  by  the  murder  of  one  of  two 
tyrants.*  Alexander  also  declared  that  Athens  would  be 
foremost  among  Greek  cities  in  receiving  the  murderer  of 
a  tyrant    It  afterwards  happened  that  the  pretended  author 

>  Natural  Hist.,   Cap.  34.  10. 

*  Ibid.^  chap.  19. 
»  Ibid. 

*  Plutarch,  Life  of  Aristides, 

'  Symposium^  trans.  Jowett,  1. 182. 

'  Callisthenes,  quoted  by  Arriau,  Anabasis  of  AUxander,  4.  10 ; 
3.  16;  7.  19. 


ApptnSx  ,J5 

of  Al"ander'.  death  wa,  publicly  h„„-.„d  by  a  decree 
P«.d  by  U,e  Athenian..  A  decree  pa„ed  in  ,he  year  «3 
wh^'  .h     fr^^  ""'""ri'ed  any  Athenian  to  kill  the  citixen 

cver.hrowlh"'""  "'  "■"  '^"™^'  ''"">  "•«  ^'P"Wic,  o^ 
overthrow  the  consftufon.  Even  down  f,  the  day,  of  the 
Roman  empjre  the  memory  of  the  two  friend,  wa,  honored  ■■ 
Ar'^  aV  ''^'"^"™  of  Julius  Ca«r,  the  AthenUn, 
dre«ed  the  statue,  of  Brutu,  and  Ca.«iu,,  and  placed  them 
b«,de  .h„,e  of  Harmodiu,  and  Aris,o„ito„  on'^helgora" 
The  earl,e»t  reference  m  Greek  literature  to  the  evil,  of 

mTms):  '"  ™'*'  ''""™  ''^■'^°'°"  '""=»  B-^- 

Truth  it  is  that  I  declined  the  bloody  desperate  career 
Of  tyrannical  command,  to  rule  alone  and^om!neer 
In  my  native  happy  land,  with  arbitrary  for",  aid  fear- 
Neither  have  I  smce  repented ;  unreproacPd,  wUhout  a  crime- 
Placed  alone,  unparalleled,  among  the  statesman  of , he  time"! 
M^rwtr/"'^  I»et  Theognis  of  Megara  (B.  C.  570-848  or 
mto  exUe.     The  following  fragments  express  his  indignation  : 

ToTjJf'  l'^':^?''''.  f^™"''  ""f  '•■ombine 

lo  lurther  his  imquitous  desiini' 

But,  If  your  faith  is  pledged,  though  late  and  loath 

If  covenants  have  pass'd  T,etween  you  both 

B,7"k  "?ff'"»'^„'"m !  keep  your  oath !       ' 

But  should  he  still  misuse  his  lawless  power. 

To  trample  on  the  people,  and  devour; 

Depose  or  overturn  him-anyhow! 

Your  oath  permits  it,  and  the  gods  allow.' 

The  sovereigTi  single  person-what  cares  he 
For  love  or  hate,  for  friend  or  enemy? 
MIS  smgle  purpose  is  utility." 

Ut^toe,   see   Ilgen,  S..hi,   ,,  „,  car^,„„  Con.n..Ua  Gr.ccrun., 

'  Dio  Csaslns,  Hist.  47.  21. 
'  Trans.  Frere,  Works  3.  366. 
'  Trans.  Frere,  3.  361. 
'  Ibid.  862. 


,6o  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 

Herodotus  (B.C.  484-443[?l)  was  also  forced  into  exile  by 
a  cruel  tyrant.  In  Samos  he  gathered  together  his  fellow- 
exiles  returned  to  Halicamassus,  his  own  city,  and  expelled 
the  tyrant  Lygdamis.  His  writings  show  his  animus  against 
despotism,  a  good  instance  being  the  speech  which  he  puts 
into  the  mouth  of  Miltiades  on  the  eve  of  Marathon,  he 
represents  the  general  as  appealing  to  the  soldiers  to  emulate 
Harmodius  and  Aristogiton.' 

Xenophon  (B.  C.  444-3571?]),  in  the  dialogue  entitled  Hieron, 
pictures  the  miseries  of  a  tyrant's  life,  and  refers  to  the  great 
honors  conferred  upon  tyrannicides  by  Greek  cities. 

Andocides  (B  C.  439-399),  exiled  in  B.  C.  416,  was  allowed 
to  return  to  Athens  upon  the  fall  of  the  Thirty  Tyrants.  In 
replying  to  the  charge  of  unlawful  participation  mthe  mystenes, 
he  alludes  to  the  exoneration  of  the  tyrannicide  by  the  Athenian 
law  and  gives  as  a  law  of  Solon  the  text  of  an  oath  which 
the  Athenian  was  required  to  Uke,  to  the  effect  that  he 
would  himself  kUl,  if  able,  any  one  who  overthrew  the  democ- 
racy in  Athens,  or  who  set  himself  up  for  a  tyrant,  or  should 
aid  another  to  establish  tyranny.  If  another  should  kdl 
a  tyrant,  the  citizen  swore  to  regard  him  as  one  who  had 
killed  an  enemy  of  the  Athenians.  If  a  citizen  should  be 
killed  in  attempting  to  destroy  a  tyrant,  or  in  such  an  enter- 
prise, he  would  accord  him  and  hU  children  the  same  hoiior 
as  was  given  to  Harmoeius  and  Aristogiton  and  their  de- 
scendants.'* .  . 

Plato  (B  C.  428-347)  was  an  unfriendly  cntic  ot  tyrants, 
although  he  lived  for  a  time  at  die  court  of  Dionysius.  He 
did  not  go  to  the  extent  of  openly  defending  tyranmcide, 
but  his  intimate  fnendship  with  Dion  made  him  sympathize 
with  the  latter  in  his  efforts  to  expel  Dionysius.  Plato  taught 
that  if  a  man  kilU  another  unjustly,  he  is  wretched;  if  justly, 
he  is  not  to  be  envied.    He  would  evidenUy  consider  the 

I  6.  109.    See  also  B.  6B;  6.  123. 

•  As  noted  above,  MUton  quot«d  this  dialogue  in  fini  Dif- 

(Bohn  1.  12B). 

■  On  the  Sfyilirie,,  §  93.     Ct.  ScheUing,  Dt  Sotonu  Ugibm,  p.  7. 
and  Schoemann,  De  CamMs  AHimiimmm,  pp.  131 K. 


'   i! 


Appendix  i6i 

murder  of  a  tyrint  a  righteous  act,  but  would  not  care  to 
be  the  assassin.  He  defines  tyranny  as  'the  power  of  doing 
whatever  seems  good  to  you  in  a  state,  killing,  banishing, 
doing  all  things  as  you  like.'  He  makes  Socrates  say  that 
a  tyrant  has  no  more  real  power  th?T  a  man  who  runs  out 
into  the  Agora  carrying  a  c's;  o, .- 1  in  the  ninth  book  of  the 
Republic,  after  describing  .;_:  excesses  of  u  private  person, 
he  says:  'This  noxious  _!,-'s  imd  iheii  followers  grow 
numerous  and  become  coi  "■.  us  of  their  strength;  assailed 
by  the  infatuation  of  the  p.;up..,  :!v,-  choose  from  among 
themselves  tlie  one  who  has  most  of  the  tyrant  in  his  own 
soul,  and  him  they  create  their  tyrant.'"  Again  he  says  that 
the  tyrant  is  of  all  men  the  most  miserable,^  and,  in  com- 
paring the  tyrant  with  the  legitimate  monarch,  he  asserts 
that  one  year  of  the  tyrannical  equals  only  twelve  hours  of 
the  royal  life.* 

Aristotle  (B.C.  384-322)  was  even  more  outspoken  in  his 
condemnation  of  tyranny  than  Plato.  His  famous  definition 
of  tyranny  was  destined  to  be  quoted  by  the  republican 
writers  of  future  ages :  '  There  is  also  a  third  kind  of  tyranny, 
which  is  the  most  typical  form,  and  is  the  counterpart  of  the 
perfect  monarchy.  This  tyranny  is  just  that  arbitrary  power 
of  an  individual  which  is  responsible  to  no  one,  and  governs 
all  alike,  whether  equals  or  betters,  with  a  view  to  its  own 
advantage,  not  to  that  of  :ts  subjects,  and  therefore  against 
their  will.  No  freeman,  if  he  can  escape  fi-om  it,  will  endure 
such  a  government.'" 

Demosthenes  (B.  C.  383-322)  quotes  the  oaths  of  the  Heliasts. 

which  bound  them  to  oppose  tyranny."     He  explains  that 

the  descendants  of  Harmodius  and  Aristogiton  are  exempt 

from  certain  services  demanded  from  other  citizens,'  refers 

'  a<:rgi(U  2.  402. 

•  Diatcgws,  trans.  Jowett,  3.  285. 
■  Ihid.  3.  288. 

'  Ibid.  (Introd.,  p.  144). 

•  Psltlics,  trans.  Jowett,  4.  10.  4.     See  also  5.  5.  6,  5.  te  9  B 
11.13;  B.  11.  16;  B.  11.  30;  3.  7.  B. 

•  Agaiml  Timocratis  §  149 ;  Againil  lipliius  §  18. 
'  Against  Lrptitus  §  29. 


i 


l62 


The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Mugistniles 


to  the  brazen  statue  erected  to  their  memory,'  and  calls  them 
supreme  benefactors,  to  whose  memory  the  people  pnur 
libations,  and  honor  them  in  songs  as  the  equals  of  heroes 
and  gods.'  The  great  orator  feared  that  tyrannicide  might 
be  a  political  necessity  in  fiiture  ages,  when  the  deed  of 
Harmodius  and  Aristogiton  would  have  to  be  repeated. 
'  The  Syracusans,'  he  says,  '  could  never  have  expected  that 
a  scribe,  Dionysius,  would  become  their  tyrant,  nor  yet  that 
Dion  with  a  few  ships  would  be  able  to  expel  him.'  • 

jEschines  (B.  C.  389-314),  the  rival  of  Demosthenes  in 
oratory,  was  at  one  with  him  in  denunciation  of  tyranny, 
and  in  praise  of  the  love  of  Harmodius  and  Aristogiton.* 

Polybius  (B!  C.  204-122)  says  the  following  in  approval  of 
tyrannicide :  '  To  take  away  the  life  of  a  citizen  is  considered 
as  a  most  horrid  crime,  and  such  as  calls  for  vengeance; 
yet  a  man  may  openly  destroy  an  adulterer  or  robber, 
without  any  fear  of  being  punished  for  it:  and  those  who 
rescue  their  country  from  a  traitor  or  a  tyrant  are  even 
thought  worthy  oi  the  greatest  honors.' '  Again,  he  observes 
that  '  the  first  conspiracies  against  tyrants  were  hat  first  con- 
trived not  by  men  of  obscure  or  low  condition,  but  by  those 
of  noblest  birth,  and  who  were  the  most  distinguished  by 
their  courage  and  exalted  spirit:  for  such  are  at  all  times 
most  impatient  of  the  insolunce  of  princes.'  •  Aristomachus, 
a  tyrant  of  Argos,  was  put  to  death  in  tortures  the  most 
cruel  and  merciless  that  ever  were  inflicted  upon  man;  but 
Polybius  was  of  opinion  that  '  the  wicked  tyranny  which  he 
had  exercised  upon  his  country  might  very  deservedly  have 
drawn  upon  him  the  severest  punishment.  Because  of  his 
great  cruelty  to  others  and  his  perfidy,  this  tyrant  should 
rather  have  been  led  through  all  the  towns  of  Peloponnesus, 


>  aij.  §  68. 

•  On  lit  Embassy  §  280. 

•  Against  Ltptints  §  159. 

•  Against   Timarchus  §  132. 
'  Hist.  2.  4. 

•  Ibid.  6.  1. 


Appendix 


■63 


exposed  to  every  kind  of  torture  and  indignity,  and  after- 
wards  have  been  dtvrived  of  life.' 1 

Diodorus  Siculus  (lived  during  the  reign  of  Augustus)  had 
much  to  say  on  the  subject  of  tyranny.  He  calls  Sicily  -the 
land  of  tyranny,' >  relates  sympathetically  the  expuljon  of 
D,onysius  by  D.on,3  describes  the  assassination  ofAlexande 
of  Pharos,,  of  D.on,.  of  Philip  by  Pausanius,.  and  relates  the 
awful  story  of  how  T.moleon  kUled  his  brother,  who  aspired 
to  be  a  tyrant.'    In  a  short  chapter  which  he  devotes  to  the 

efcctX  XT''  "'  """"^^  ^  ^">-'-S  of  Solon  to  the 
effect  that  wealthy  men  are  dangerous  to  the  state,  because 
of  their  opportunity  by  means  of  corruption  to  set  up 
a  tyranny.;  ,„  th.s  book  we  also  find  a  prolix  account  of 
the  cruel  les  perpetrated  by  the  tyrant  Agathocles.  Harmodius 
and  AnstogUon  receive  the  customary  honorable  mention.' 

Greek  and  Latm  literature,  so  far  as  this  subject  is  concerned. 
He  was  equally  at  home  in  denouncing  the  Pisistratida..  or 
the  Tarqums   m  praising  Thrasybulus  or  Brutus.     His  lives 

and  Ga'Jh  H  ^'^''  3™°'™"'  ''^•°'  '^'""'  Dion,  Brutus, 
and  Galba  breathe  his  passionate  hatred  of  tyranny  He 
contended  that  the  mildness  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Epicurean, 
rendered  the  soul  incapable  of  strong  deeds,  since  this  school 
had  never  produced  a  tyrannicide.'"  He  praised  the  philo- 
sophica   teachmg  of  Plato,  however,  because  it  had  fortified 

Dion'Tinl,''^'™!'/  ^^  "  ^"=  °"'"S  'o  *''  i-P"--'i°"  --hat 
„/r  !^  f"/^'*"  '"  P""'^''  ^=^"^'  Dionysius,"  and 
others  had  dared  to  murder  King  Cotys  of  Thrace.'^  His 
parallel  hves  of  D.on  and  Brutus  display  Plutarch's  uncom- 
doroS  '"""'.  '"''  "'^declaration  that  ■  the  greatest 
glory  of  both  men  co.isists  m  their  abhorrence  of  tyrants  and 

;^"'^2.4.  .11.87.  .16  6.  .16.14. 

'8-  8-  •  16.  94.  '  16  66 

26.*1«:  ^'    "■  ^"'  °"^"  "^  ""  '"""""•"■  '"  >"-•"•  »"•"■  Siudic. 
•  8.  87,  92. 
■•Afor»/^„,>„,ehap.82.     ■  ■  /J,tf.,  chap.  20.     ■•  /«,a,  chap.  82. 


1 54  The  Tenure  cj  Kings  and  Magistrates 

their  criminal  measures'  is  thoroughly  characteristic  of  the 

•whole  body  of  his  political  opinions. 

Lucian  (A.D.  120  (?)-190  (?)  speaks  of  the  hopes  and  feats 
which  agitate  the  breast  of  the  tyrant;  simply  the  name  ot 
tyranc  is  sufficient  to  create  hatred  in  the  her -ts  ot  the 
people.'  The  adorers  of  tyrants  are  lovers  of  power  and 
timeservers,  and  under  the  rule  »'  ="y""'. *%"';"'' ,■!."; 
greater  danger  than  if  he  were  among  a  foreign  foe."  Lucian 
enters  upon  a  nice  discussion  as  to  whether  a  person  who 
kUls  the  son  of  a  tyrant  ought  to  recei-e  the  regular  reward 
of  a  tyrannicide!  he  concludes  that  the  law  of  tyranmcide 
determines  the  recompense,  i.  e.,  the  patriotic  deed  is  ite 
own  reward  >  This  author  also  gives  some  interesting  data 
as  to  the  lives,  customs,  and  violent  deaths  of  tyrants. 

Arrian  (flourished  in  the  second  century  A.D.),  besides 
quoting  CallUthenes'  account  of  the  conversation  be.*een 
Philotas  and  Ale^cander,'  relates  that  Alexander  the  Great 
sent  back  to  Athens  bronze  statues  o(  Harmodius  and  Ansto- 
giton,  which  were  recovered  at  Babylon.' 

Although  we  have  already  anticipated  the  Roman  point 
of  view  in  quoting  the  republican  sentiments  of  Plutarch, 
we  find  that  long  before  the  days  of  the  great  biographer 
the  Latin  writers  were  interested  in  this  subject.  Rome  had 
no  Harmodius  and  Aristogiton  to  commit  a  political  murder 
in  her  early  days,  but  she  produced  a  stem  foe  to  tyranny 
in  Junius  Brutus,  who,  even  if  he  did  not  kill  the  Taiqums 
at  least  established  a  precedent  for  the  deposition  of  unjust 
rulers.  Strictly  speaking,  the  Roman  republic  could  not  boast 
a  single  case  of  tyrannicide,  but  the  ancient  Brutus,  bervUms 
Ahala,  Marcus  Brutus,  and  Cassius  took  their  places  in  Latm 
literature  on  a  footing  of  equality  with  Harmodius  and  Aristo- 
giton. As  in  other  respects  the  literary  fashions  of  the 
conquered  became  those  of  the  conquerors,  so  the  eulogy 


1  mrii,  p.  465  (Paris,  1616).       •  -O'^.,  p.  23 

•  ;j«.,  p.  211. 

•  ^/MifcuJi  0/  Moainiir  tht  Grict,  cil.  supra. 

•  aid.,  chap.  10. 


•  /i:J.,  p.  413. 


Appendix  165 

of  tj-rannicide  became  a  popular  theme  with  the  Roman 
poets,  orators,  and  historians.  The  troublous  and  corrupt 
days  of  the  empire  saw  the  cutting-oiT  of  numerous  tyrants. 
•The  expenence  of  the  Roman  world,'  says  Egger,  'shows 
on  a  larger  scale  that  which  Greece  had  proved  many  times 
the  powerlessness  of  murder  to  regenerate  the  people  and 
to  establish  good  government.  The  republican  tradition, 
however,  obstinately  outlived  these  proofs,  for  it  was  perpetu- 
ated m  the  conscience  of  mankind,  in  serious  literature,  and 
m  the  sophistry  of  the  schools.'  > 

Cicero  (B.C.  106-«),  one  of  the  glories  of  Latin  literature, 
set  his  seal  of  approval  upon  the  Greek  custom  of  honoring 
tyranmcide.  'The  Greeks,'  he  .ays,  'give  the  hono,^  of  thi 
gods  to  those  men  who  have  slain  tyrants.  What  have  I 
not  seen  at  Athens?  What  in  the  other  cities  of  Greece' 
What  divme  honors  have  I  not  seen  paid  to  such  men ' 
What  odes,  what  songs  have  I  not  heard  in  their  praise? 
They  are  almost  consecrated  to  immortality  in  the  memories 
and  worship  of  men.'"  Two  more  quotations  from  the  great 
orator  of  Rome  must  suffice  to  represent  his  uncompromising 
views  on  this  topic;  both  are  from  his  Offices:  'What  can 
be  greater  wickedness  than  to  slay,  not  only  a  man,  but  an 
intimate  friend?  Has  he  then  involved  himself  in  guilt  who 
slays  a  tyrant,  however  intimate?  He  does  not  appear  so 
to  the  Roman  people  at  least,  who  of  all  great  exploits  deem 
that  the  most  honorable."  Again  he  says :  •  Now  as  to  what 
relates  to  Phalaris  [the  tyrant  of  Agrigentum],  the  decision 
is  very  easy;  for  we  have  no  society  with  tyrants,  but  rather 
the  widest  separation  from  them  ;  nor  is  it  contrary  to  nature 
to  despoil,  if  you  can,  him  whom  it  is  a  virtue  to  slay-and 
this  pestilential  and  impious  class  ought  to  be  entirely  exter- 
minated from  the  community  of  mankind.  For  as  certain 
limbs  are  amputated,  both  if  they  themselves  have  begun 
to  be  destitute  of  blood,  and,  as  it  were,  of  life,  and  if  they 


'  Sur  U  Meurtre  Politique^  etr 
*  Spteih  for  Mito,  chap.  2i). 
'  8.  4. 


p.  28. 


1 66  The  Tenure  of  Kittys  and  Magistrates 

injure  the  other  parts  of  the  body,  so  the  brutahty  and  fer- 
ocity of  a  beast  in  the  figure  of  a  man  ought  to  be  cut  off 
from  the  common  body,  as  it  were,  of  humanity.'' 

Nepos  (B.  C.  100-24)  narrates  the  deeds  of  Thrasybulus, 
Miltiades,  Dion,  and  Timoleon. 

SaUust  (B.C.  8a-A.D.  34)  puts  a  protest  against  tyranny 
into  the  mouth  of  Caius  Memmius.' 

Li\-y  (B.C.  59-A.D.  17)  describes  the  revolution  led  by 
Brutus  against  the  Tarquins,=  and  recites  the  text  of  the 
Valerian  Law  against  those  aiming  at  tyranny.* 

Seneca  (B.  C.  4  (?)-A.  D.  65j  wrote  the  verses  quoted  by 
Milton  in  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates  (22.  »).' 

Persius  (A. D.  34-62),  in  his  third  satire,  exclaims:  'Great 
father  of  "the  gods,  be  it  thy  pleasure  to  inflict  no  other 
punishment  on  the  monsters  of  tyranny,  after  their  nature 
has  been  stirred  by  tierce  passion,  that  has  the  taint  of  fiery 
poison— let  them  look  upon  virtue,  and  pine  that  they  have 
lost  her  for  ever!'  He  refers  in  the  same  satire  to  the  dread 
of  Phalaris  and  Damocles,  when  they  heard  a  voice  whispering 
to  their  hearts,  '  We  are  going,  going  down  the  precipice.' 
Quintilian  (A.D.  35-97  (?)  uses  as  an  illustratiin  in  his 
Principles  of  Oratory  the  phrase  of  Cato,  'CiEsar  came  sober 
to  destroy  the  commonwealth.'  •  He  also  employs  the  similitude : 
'  As  physicians  prescribe  the  amputation  of  a  limb  that  mani- 
festly tends  to  mortification,  so  would  it  be  necessary  to  cut 
off  all  bad  citizens."  The  use  of  all  such  material  in  school- 
eiercises  reflects  the  thought  of  the  age;  the  Roman  Senate 
in  the  days  of  Nero  and  Domitian  had  become  cowardly  in 
its  subservience  to  tyrants,  yet  the  educated  classes  loved 

'  Ibid.,  chap.  7.  Other  references  to  Cicero's  writings :  'iid. 
S.  21;  Lrllrrs  to  Atlitm  10.  8;  14. 16;  16.  15  (in  which  he  calls 
those  who  kill  tyrants  tyranncolotits) ;  To  Brutus,  chap.  16,  Philip. 
1.  1. 

»  Jugurthan    War,  chap.  31. 

■  Hist.  2.  8.  '  8.  6. 

•  Htrcula  922-924. 

•  Bk.  8,  chap.  2. 

'  8.  8;  cf.  7.2,3,7. 


Appendix 


•  67 


to  talk  about  resmance,  even  if  they  had  become  too  effemi- 
nate  to  take  up  arms  against  misrule. 

Suetonius  (during  ,he  reign  of  Trajan)  describes  the  last 
days  and  unhappy  deaths  of  Tiberius,i  Nero,>  and  Galba' 
and  gives  a  sympathetic  account  of  the  revolt  of  Vindex* 

hiJ'^f"'"'/  ^^■'^-  ".^(^^-"^P)'  fr-""  *-  opening  words  of 
h.s  ^W.  wherem  he  states  that  'liberty  was  Instituted  in 
he  consulship  of  L.Junius  Brutus'  shows  his  animus  against 
tyrants.  H.s  sketch  of  .he  life  of  Tiberius  is  one  of  the^ZI 
terrible  exposures  of  tyranny  ever  written.  His  best-known 
Mying  on  this  topic  is  contained  in  his  description  of  the 
funera  0  Junia  ,he  niece  of  Cato :  'The  busts  of  twenty 
most  Ulustnous  families  were  borne  in  the  procession,  with 
the  names  of  Manlius,  Quinctius,  and  others  of  equal  rank. 

f,      fvTTT  "'',  ,  ^™'"'  "'"^'"'"^  "-=■"  ^»'  f™""  'he  very 
tact  that  their  likenesses  were  not  to  be  seen.'" 

Marcus  Aurelius  (A.D.  121-180),  the  republican  emperor, 
was  at  one  with  other  philosophers  of  his  age  in  eulogizing 
Marcus  B™.us:  'From  him  I  received  the  Mea  of  a  pob^ 
m  which  there  is  the  same  law  for  all,  a  polity  administered 
with  regard  to  equal  rights  and  equal  freedom  of  speech 
o?;il  ,1     r  °1  ^  '''"^'y  government  which  respects  most 
KK  ''"'/'■'^"^''O'n  of  the  governed.-    He  seems  to  have 
mbibed  these  view,  from  the  rhetoricians  of  the  day,  who 
taugh    their  pupils  to  declaim  against  tyrants :  '  From  Fronto 
[the  rhe  oncianj,'  he  says,  ■!  learned  to  observe  what  envy 
and  duplicity  and  hypocrisy  are  in  a  tyrant,  and  that  generally 
those  among  us  who  are  called  patricians  are  rather  deficient 
in  paternal  affection.'' 
DioCassius  (A.D.  156-?)  praises  Vindex,  who  incited  the 

'  Z«rj,  chap.  75. 

"  Chap.  .37,  49. 

'  Chap.  B,  12,  14,  19,  20. 

'  AW-o,  chap.  40;  Galba,  chap.  11 

•  3.  76. 

•  Meditations  1.  14. 
'  1.  11. 


i68  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 

army  to  rise  against  Nero,  and  describes  with  gusto  the 
latter's  vices,  vanities,  and  miserable  death.' 

Appian  (middle  of  the  second  century)  shows  his  hatred 
of  tyranny  in  his  relation  of  the  conspiracy  of  Brutus  and 
Cassius,  and  their  subsequent  misfortunes  in  war.' 

Marius  Maiimus  (reign  of  Severus)  wrote  the  lives  of  three 
tyrants,  Avidius,  Albin,  and  Niger. 

Trebellius  PoUio  (reign  of  Constantine),  in  an  endeavor 
to  match  the  roll  of  the  Thirty  Tyrante  of  Greece,  whom 
Thrasybuliis  overthrew,  drew  up  accounts  of  the  lives  of 
thirty  Roman  foes  of  liberty,  most  of  them  being  military 
leaders  of  slight  importance." 

Capitolinus  (a  contemporary  of  Pollio)  imitated  him  by 
writing  the  lives  of  the  tyrants.  Varus,  Pertinax,  and  the 
Maximins. 

Flavins  Vopiscus  of  Syracuse  (flourished  circa  A.  D.  300) 
also  produced  literature  of  this  kind  in  hU  lives  of  the 
tyrants,  Firmus,  Satuminus,  Proculus,  and  Bonosus. 

Lucius  Florus  (reign  of  Trajan)  has  a  single  reference  to 
thU  subject  in  his  remark;  'Brutus  and  Cassius  seemed  to 
have  cast  Csesar,  like  another  king  Tarquin,  from  the  sover- 
eignty.'* 

Libanius  (A.  D.  314-393  (?)  lived  in  a  century  when 
Christianity  had  inculcated  the  duty  of  passive  obedience, 
but  his  voluminous  writings  show  all  the  ardor  of  Plutarch 
against  tyranny.  He  quotes  Socrates  and  Theognis  as  author- 
ities against  the  prevaiUng  practice  of  poets  in  praising 
tyrants,  even  those  despots  who  surpass  all  in  madness  and 
wickedness.  Alluding  to  the  eulogy  of  Harmodius  and 
Aristogiton  by  early  poets,  he  says  that  he  has  heard  that 
no  slave  should  be  given  the  name  of  either  hero.»  In 
a  bold  justification   of  tyrannicide   he   declares:    'Whoso 

•  HM.,  Bk.  63.    See  also  78.  22;  f>7.  24;  62.  27. 
'  Hist,  of  Civil  War  4.  114—136. 

•  See  his   Thirty  lyranls.     See  Gibbon's  ridicule  of  this  Ust, 
Diclim  and  Fall  1.  408  f. 

•  Epitmne  4.  2. 

•  Ofrra  1.  6B5  (Paris). 


Appendix  ,6, 

J^eite'^^^jfr''  •"r"'"'^''*'"  '■''■■«'"■  "■"•should 
rt      f  ""■  *""  ""«  "h"  •■"  done  equal  deed, 

m  war,  becau,e  the  soldier  b  sustained  by  the  presence  of 
h»  comrade,,  whUe  the  slayer  of  a  tyrant  L  to  30^^.  ' 

Shal  we  not  love  any  kind  of  wickedness  before  tyranny  ■ " 

their  f?  .°'""=  P*"'^  "'♦>-"''••  '"eir  punishment. 
the.r  .nfamy,.  the  cruelf,  cf  Echetus  and  Phalaris"  "he 
Athenian  tyrants,'  the  des-mction  of  the  Theban  ty  anl' 
and  the  proper  reward  of  tyrannicide.' 

Among  the  schoolmen  of  the  Middle  Ages  this  subject 
received  some  attention  from  John  ofSalisbu.?,  whoaprroved 
of  tyranmade,"  and   from  St.  Thomas  Aquinas,   who  dis- 

oTtrDuke'fT,'"'  ''"°™"'^  •>-™>^"  T'.e  murdlr 
with  n.  /,  °'''''^"'  '"  '*"^  ''■™^'^'l  'he  old  question 
Xated  LTh-      "^  '"'"^^'-    ■^^  =^'^'"'  >-  --  P--. 

ZiL^L  r  'Tf^  P""'"  '"  '"^  P™Wbition.  Had  this 
enthusiast  stood  alone,  his  strange  pl.a  might  have  been 

Stein  t "'  T^  ?""=  °'  ^^'^^^^  --  ^--g-'d  v^  h 
being  the  mstigator  of  the  crime,  and  the  leami,«  of  the 

Sorbonne,  pubhcly  maintained  the  thesis  that  it  is  lawful 
for  subjects  to  slay  a  tyrant,"  while  his  associates  in  the 

lt™To  kin  '•  ""'"'■  ""■  """"^  '^'^^  ""'hori/e  each 

person  to  kil ,  or  cause  to  be  kUled,  a  tyrant,  and  even  to 

decided  "^J'  "'  '""''■"  ™=  '"'«'«°"  *^  no'  'o  be 
dec,ded,  however,  without  the  pronouncement  of  the  church. 
Jean  Gerson  was  the  leader  of  conservative  thought  on  this 


■  1.896. 
'  1.  651. 


'  1-  62.  ■  1.  788. 

'  1.  628,  735.  .    1.  607. 

•  1.  690. 

'•  Polycraticut  8.  17—21. 

"  Dt  R,g.  Print.  1.  2. 

"  Creighton,  Hist,  of  th.  Papacy  2.  71,  72 

"  Blakey,  Msl.  «/  P,l,i,cal  Littr.  2.  215. 


'  1.694. 
•  2.  490. 


170  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 

subject,  and,  chiefly  owtng^  to  his  denunciation  of  tyrannicide, 
it  was  condemned  by  the  Council  of  Constance,  which  decreed 
in  1416  that  it  was  heretical  to  assert  'that  any  tyrant  may 
be  killed  by  a  vassal  or  subject  of  his  own,  even  by  treach- 
ery, in  despite  of  oaths,  and  without  any  judicial  sentence 
being  passed  against  him.' '  The  Council,  for  political  reasons, 
refused  to  condemn  the  specific  opinions  of  Petit,  and,  in 
spite  of  the  decree,  Pope  Sixtus  V  subsequently  publicly 
eulogised  the  assassination  of  Henri  III  by  Clement,  the 
Dominican.' 

Throiighc'it  the  sixteenth  century  there  was  a  steady 
development  of  the  theory  of  the  deposing  power,  and  the 
literature  on  the  question  of  tyrannicide  becomes  abundant. 
The  sermons  and  exegetical  works  of  the  Protestant  reformers, 
especially  those  of  the  second  generation,  encouraged  resis- 
tance to  tyrants  through  the  intervention  of  the  Huguenots, 
and  Roman  Catholics  of  France  were  opposed  to  the  tyrannical 
monarch,  the  former  invoking  the  interests  of  the  state,  the 
latter  those  of  religion.^  But  the  massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew 
in  1572  cre^iiuiJ  deeper  convictions,  and  exerted  a  tremendous 
effect  o-  thill  crs  of  all  shades  in  politics ;  the  results  of  that 
awful  event  were  really  most  beneficial  to  the  cause  of  civil 
and  religious  liberty.  It  has  been  pointed  out  that  within 
seven  years  of  that  seeming  calamity  were  written  the  most 
important  revolutionary  tracts  of  the  century.  The  follow- 
ing works  of  that  great  creative  period  are  especially  note- 
worthy as  bearing  on  the  subject  of  tyranny :  Hotman,  Franco- 
Gallia  (1573);  Bodin,  De  Republica  (1576);  Boetie,  Discours 
de  la  Servitude  Volonkiire,  ou  le  Contr'un  (1676);  Languet 
(or  Du  Plessis-Momay)  Vindicia  contra  Tyrannos  (1579) ;  and 
Buchanan,  De  Regni  Jure  apud  Scotos  (1579).  Of  these 
writers,  Bodin  seems  to  have  been  the  first  modem  to  make 
a  search  in  the  writings  of  Greece  and  Rome  on  the  sub- 

>  Creighton,  Hht.  of  the  Papacy^  2.  72. 

■  Von  Ranke,  Hist,  of  the  Popes  1.  521.  See  also  Oxenham, 
Ethics  of  Tyrannicide,  in  Short  Studies,  p.  409. 

'  Armstrong,  Political  Theory  of  the  Huguenots,  in  Eng.  Hist. 
Rev.,  Vol.  4,  1899. 


appendix  ,7, 

ject  of  tyranny.  He  draw,  up  a  short  list  of  the  tv,«m. 
cde.  of  an..qui,y,  quote,  the  law  of  Solon  and  the  vZ^ 

■t  »  lawful  for  either  the  people  or  the  nobility  to  procAd 
aga™t  a  tyrant  by  way  of  justice,  or  even  byVpen^  3" 
but  .f  he  be  an  absolute  sovereign,  a,  in  France  Sl^„' 
ri^h  "Jo'  h"    "T"''  ""'  '"''^«"  ""  "<"  poises"  ev^Te 

over  mm^'^Bu^T."'  •"'"•/!'  '"'^  '"'^'  "°  J-'^"*^" 
orinr,  r  ,  ^  ,  ?""■""'  ""'"K  ™y  by  another  foreign 
pnnce  b.  lawfully  slain,  as  Moses  slew  the  Egyptian    a^ 

"r.y"nt"7:'  T/™"  '"'"'''  n,ons.er.i:at  is  o 
Z'„  T  ;  T^  """  ""'•*"'"  °'  "^--^'^  he  includes 
D,on,  Timoleon,  Aratus,  Harmodius,  and  Aristogi.on.' 

The  author  of  r,W,hi,  comra  Tyrannos  refined  upon  Bodin's 
cunous  d,st,nc.,on  between  princes,  contending  "^^hat  there 
or!;:  h""'  "*'""  '""'''  ^"^  *«  '>^^"'  "*  «o  the 
but  one  who  has  violated  the  compact,  tacit  or  expres^d 
between  h.mself  and  his  people.  The  private  citizen^ay 
draw  h^  sword  aga.nst  the  usurper,  but  not  against  the 
eg,  .mate  pnnce.  The  magistrate,  however,  may  bf  appL Ld 
d°u.;"'  "  ^""""'"^  '"  "■"?■='  -  l^-wful  king  to'do  his 

The  formulation  of  such  views  had  its  natural  consequence 
They  were  carried  to  their  logical  conclusion  by  the  Roman 
Cathohc  party.  The  articles  of  the  League  of  Paris  in  nS 
provided  for  the  suppression  of  heresy^d  tylnny  I"d  hi 
assassmahon  of  Henri  III  was  the  result..  Hencl^  ,he 
J«u,t  wr-ters  regarded  any  tyrant,  and  particularly  a" 
teal  monarch,  as  a  fitting  victim  of  tyrannicide.  The  ecdes 
astical  upholders  of  political  murder%aught  that  there  were 
two  kmds  of  tyrants-usurpe,^,  who  might  of  course  be  sTain 
and  despots,  to  be  regarded  as  worthy  of  death  at  the  hands' 

'   Tht  Six  Booirs  „/  a  CommonwraU    p    '>22 
'  Ibid.,  pp.  220,  231. 

■  Janet,  Hi,t.  d,  ta  Sci^c,  Polili,u^,  pp,  86  87 
Armstrong,  Tl,t  Fr^ch   Wars  of  Ji,li^o„,  p.  63. 
1 


lyj  The  Tenure  of  Kings  •ind  Magistrates 

of  the  individual  citiien,  lifter  the  whole  republic  had  ex- 
presily  or  tacitly  condemned  them.  This  doctrine,  to  be 
sure,  allowed  much  latitude  for  individual  judgment.'  Mariana, 
the  Spanish  Je»uit,  in  hi»  famoua  chapter,  De  Tyrama,  in 
Dt  Regt  el  Regis  Inslilulione  (1S99),  gave  the  frankeat  ex- 
position of  this  teaching,  and  may  be  regarded  as  the  leading 
advocate  of  tyrannicide  among  the  numerous  Roman  Catholic 
pamphleteers.  He  openly  justified  the  assassination  of  Henri  III, 
and  decided  that  a  tyrant  might  be  killed  either  publicly 
or  by  craft.  At  certain  kinds  of  poisoning  he  drew  the  line, 
but  did  not  object  to  the  poisoning  of  a  tyrant  through  his 
clothes  or  cushions.  With  the  names  of  Mariana  and  Buchanan 
we  have  completed  the  historical  circle,  and  have  reverted 
to  the  views  of  the  Athenians,  who  chanted  the  Scolium 
to  the  memory  of  the  murderers  of  the  son  of  Pisistratus. 

'  Figgis,    Ssmt  felitital  Thtoriii  0/  llii  Efrly  Jimil:,   in    Iratu. 
Reyal.  Hist.  Soc.  11.  104,  lOB. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

I.  Editions  of  1  he  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates. 
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is  Lawfull,  and  hath  been  held  so  through  all  Ages,  for 
any  who  have  the  Power,  to  call  to  account  a  Tyrant, 
or  wicked  KING,  and  after  due  conviction,  to  deiwse 
and  put  him  to  death;  if  the  ordinary  MAGISTRATE 
have  neglected,  or  deny'd  to  doe  it.  And  that  they  who, 
of  late,  so  much  blame  Deposing,  are  the  Men  that  did 
It  themselves.  The  Author,  J.  M.  London,  Printed  by 
Mallheui  Siimtis,  at  the  Gilded  Lyon  in  Aldersgate  Street, 

>..  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates  proving,  That  it  is 
Lawfull  and  hath  been  held  so  through  all  Ages,  for  any 
who  have  the  Power  to  call  to  account  a  Tyrant  or 
wicked  KING,  and  after  due  Conviction,  to  depose  and 
put  him  to  Death;  if  the  ordinary  MAGISTRATE  have 
neglected,  or  deny'd  to  doe  it.  And  that  they,  who,  of 
late,  so  much  blame  Depo.sing,  are  the  Men  that  did  it 
themselves.  Published  now  the  second  Time  with  some 
additions,  fflwrf  majiy  Testimonies  also  added  out  of  the  best 
and  learnedest  among  PROTESTANT  Divines  asserting 
the  position  of  this  look.  The  Author  J.  M.  LONDON, 
Printed  by  MaHhew  Simmons,  next  doore  to  the  Gil-Lyon 
in  Aldersgate  Street,  1650. 

[Some  copies  of  this  edition  have  the  following  variation 
in  the  title,—'  Printed  by  Matthew  Simmons,  at  the  Gilded 
Lyon  in  Aldersgate  Street,  1649], 

i.  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates.  Originally  written 
by  the  Celebrated  John  Milton.  Now  corrected  and 
republished  with  Additional  Notes  and  Observations  •  and 
particularly  recommended,  at  This  Time,  to  the  Perusal 
of  the  Men  of  Ireland.    Dublin  1784. 

[This  reprint,  on  cheap  paper,  was  issued  in  the  form 
of  a  16mo  tract,  with  a  short  introduction  by  the  anonymous 
editor.  He  makes  a  plea  for  the  sovereignty  of  the  people, 
and  quotes  as  authorities  Strabo,  Tacitus,  Hotman,  Hoadley, 
Burnet,  Locke,  Hutcheson,  and  '  the  Author  of  the  North 
Bntam:    The  notes  are  few  and  of  no  value]. 

q2 


174  The  TeHUrt  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 

4.  The  Rights  of  Nations  to  depose  Their  Kings,  an  Abridge- 
ment of  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates.  Ed.  William 
G.  Lewis.    London,  circa  1800. 

5.  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates,  appended  to  Milton's 
History  oj  Britain.    Ed.  Francis  Maseres.    London  1818. 

[A  reprint  of  Birch's  version  of  1753]. 

n.   Prose  Works. 

Prose  Works  of  John  Milton.    Amsterdam,  1694. 

The  Works  of  Mr.  John  Milton.    [No  Place]  1697. 

Complete  Historical,  Political,  and  Miscellaneous  Works. 
3  vols.    [Ed.  John  TolandJ.    1898. 

A  Complete  Collection  of  Historical,  Political,  and  Miscel- 
laneous Works  of  John  MUton.  Ed.  T.  Birch.  2  vols. 
London,  1738. 

The  Works  of  John  Milton,  Historical,  Political,  and  Miscel- 
laneous.   Ed.  T.  Birch  [and  R.  Barron].    London,  1763. 
[In  a  quarto  edition  of  this  publication,  which  appeared 

the  same  year.  Birch  (or  Barron)  observes  that  in  1650  The 

Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates  was  republished  by  the 

author  with  considerable  additions,  'all  which,  omitted  in 

every  former  edition  of  the  author's  works,  are  here  carefully 

inserted  in  their  proper  place.'    This  boast  is  not  justified, 

for  the  edition  of  1697  included  the  additions]. 

The  Prose  Works  of  John  Milton.  Ed.  C.  Symmons.  7  vols. 
London,  1806. 

The  Prose  Works  of  John  Milton.  With  an  Introductory 
Review  by  R.  Fletcher.    London,  1833. 

The  Prose  Works  of  John  Milton.    Ed.  J.  A.  St.  John.    5  vols. 
London,  1848-63. 
[The  well-known  Bohn  edition,  the  most  convenient  and, 

on  the  whole,  the  best  edition  of  Milton's  prose  ever  published]. 

Prose  and  Poetical  Works  of  Milton.  Ed.  J.  Mitford.  7  vols. 
London,  1851. 

ni.  Prose  Selections. 
Selections  from  the  Works  of  Taylor,  Hooker,  Milton,  etc. 

London,  1807.  .     „    . 

The  Poetry  of  Milton's  Prose,  selected  from  his  Various 

Writings,  with  Notes,  and  an  Introductory  Essay,  [by  C.]. 

London,  1827. 
The  Beauties  of  Milton,  consisting  of  Selections  from  his 

Poetry  and  Prose  by  A.  Howard.    London  [1834]. 
Select  Prose  Works.    Ed.  J.  A.  St.  John.    2  vols.    London, 

1836. 


Bibliography  175 

Extracts  from  Milton's  Prose  Works.    Edinburgh,  1836. 
Prose  Works  of  John  Milton.    Ed.  R.  W.  Griswold.   New  York 

1847. 
Selections  from  the  Prose  Writings  of  John  Milton.    Ed.  S. 

Manning.    London,  1861. 
Treasures  from  the  Prose  Writings  of  John  Milton.  Ed.  Fayette 

Hurd.    Boston,  1866. 
Selections  from  the  Prose  Works  of  John  Milton.    Ed.  J.  J.  G 

Graham.    London,  1870. 
John  Milton's  Politische  Hauptschriften.   Uebersetzt  von  Dr.  W 

Berr.hardi.     Berlin,  1870-79. 
Selected  Prose  Writings  of  John  Milton,  with  an  Introductory 

Essay  by  E.  Myers.     London,  1884. 
Readings  from  Milton,  with  an  Introduction  by  Bishop  H.  W. 

Warren.    Boston,  1888. 
English  Prose  Writings  of  Milton.    Ed.  H.  Moriey.    London, 

1889. 
The  Pro.se  of  Milton,  selected  and  edited,  with  an  Introduction 

by  R.  Gamett.    London,  1892. 
Selections,  chiefly  Autobiographical,  from  the  Pamphlets  and 

Letters  of  Milton,  with  the  Tractate   on  Education  and 

Areopagitica.     New  York,  1901. 
Prose  Works  of  Milton.     Vol.  1.    London,  1906. 
Introduction  to  Prose  and  Poetical  Works  of  Milton.    Ed.  H. 

Corson.    London,  1899. 

IV.   Biography,  Criticism,  etc.  bearing  on  Milton's  Prose. 

Aubrey,  John.    Collections  for  Life  of  Milton,  appended  to 

Lives  of  Edward  and  John  Philips.    Ed.  Wm.  Godwin. 

London,  1815. 
Blackburne,  Francis.    Remarks  on  Johnson's  Life  of  Milton. 

London,  1790. 
Chateaubriand,   M.  de.     Essai   sur  la  Litterature  Anglaise. 

Paris  1836. 
Fry,  Alfred.    Lecture  on  the  Writings,  Prose  and  Poetic, 

and  the  Character,  Public  and  Personal,   of  John  Milton. 

London,  1838. 
GEFfROv,  A.    Etude  sur  les  Pamphlets  Politiques  et  Religieux 

de  Milton.    Paris  1848. 
GuERLE,  Edmond  DE.    Milton:  Sa  Vie  et  Ses  Oeuvres.    Paris. 

1868. 
Hill,  G.  F.     Prize  Essay  on  Prose  Style  of  MUton.     London, 

188S. 


Horwood.  A.  J.    Milton's  Commonplace  Book.    Camden  Soc. 
London,  1876.    Revised  edition,  Westminster,  1877. 


Pub.    Lond 


176  The  Tenure  of  Kings  and  Magistrates 

Ivnrev,  Jos.    Life  and  Times  of  Milton.    New  York,  1888. 
Jenks,  T.    In  the  Days  of  Milton.    London,  1905. 
Johnson,  Dr.  Samuel.    Life  of  Milton.    London,  1787. 
Keightley,  Thos.    Life,  Opinions,  and  Writings  of  John  Milton. 

London,  1855. 
Lowell,  J.  R.    Among  My  Books.    Second  Series.    London, 

1876. 
Mackenzie,  Sir  Geo.  Jus  Regium.   Against  Buchanan,  Dolman, 

Milton,  etc.    Edinburc:h,  1684. 
Masson,  David.    Life  of  John  Milton,  narrated  in  Connection 

with  the  Political,  Ecclesiastical,  and  Literary  History  of 

His  Time.    6  vols.    London  and  New  York,  1859-80. 
Mead,  L.  A.     Milton's  England.    London,  1903. 
Milton   Memorial   Lectures,    1908.     Read   before  the  Royal 

Society  of  Literature.    Ed.  P.  W.  Ames.     London,  1909. 
MiRABEAU,  Count  de.     Theorie  de  la   Royaute  d'apres  la 

Doctrine  de  Milton.     Paris,  1789. 
Morgan,  J.  de.    Milton  considered  as  a  Politician.    London, 

1875. 
Mortimer,  C.  E.    An  Historical  Memoir  of  the  Political  Life 

of  John  Milton.     London,  1805. 
Of  the  Monarchy  of  Scotland  against  Milton.    London,  1684. 
On  Milton  as  Liable  to  Just  Censure.    London,  1709. 
Pattison,  Mark.     Milton,  an  Account  of  His  Life  and  Works. 

London,  1879. 
Peck,  Francis.    Memoirs  of  Life  and  Poetical  Works  of  John 

Milton,  with  an  Examination  of  Milton's  Style,  etc.  London, 

1740. 
Raleigh,  W.  A.    'lie  of  Milton.    London,  1900. 
Seeley,  J.  R.     Lectures  and  Addresses.    London,  1870. 
ScHARF,  LuDwiG.    John  Milton  and  Jean  Jacques  Rousseau. 

Braunschweig,  1882. 
Schmidt,  Henricus.    Milton  considered  as  a  Political  Writer. 

Halle,  1882. 
SMrm,  GoLDwiN.     Lectures  and  Essays.    New  York,  1881. 
Stern,  Alfred.     Milton  und  seine  Zeit.    2  Telle.     Leipzig, 

1877-79. 
Toland,  J.  The  Life  of  Milton,  containing,  besides  the  History 

of  His  Works,  Several  Extraordinary  Characters  of  Men, 

Books,  Sects,  Parties,  and  Opinions.    London,  1699. 
Trent,  W.J.  John  Milton,  Life  and  Works.    New  York,  1899. 
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Weber,   Georg.     John  Milton's  Prosaische  Schriften  Uber 

Kirche,  Staat  und  affentUches  Leben  seiner  Zeit.     Ein 

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Whtte,  Holt.    Milton's  Areopagitica  and  Review  of  Johraon's 

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V.   A  List  of  the  More  Important  Works  consulted  in  the 

Preparation  of  the  Present  Edition  of  The  Tenure  of  Kings 

and  Magistrates. 

Acton,  Lord.  History  ofFreedom  and  Other  Essays.   London 

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178 


The  Tenure  if  Kings  and  Magistrates 


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Clergy  in  Their  Colours,  or  the  Pride  and  Avarice  of  the 

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Testimony  to  the  Truth  of  Jesus  Christ  and  tn  n„.  s  i 


INDEX  TO  TEXT 


Abiram  8.  6 
Abatract  18. 13 
AccomodatlOD  43.  6 
Adam  9. 28 
Adonibezec  55.  Jl 
Adulterate  14.9 
AdTOQBoas  66.32 
Affections  3.4 

:  5.38;  22.35 
Bab  23.13;  Sa  10 
Allenatlan  8. 31 
Allegiance  6.11;  11.8 
Amendment  35. 19,  52. 29 
Amerce  52. 8 
Anointment  88.28 
Anawerable  28.35 
Antiochna  38. 10 
ApoUoniuB  62. 27 
Arbitrement  10.26 
Aristotle  12. 13 ;  13  (note) 
Arragonian  12. 1 
Arrogate  12.24 
ArtilTery-groond  54.25 
Asia  12.  !§ 

Assembly  28.20;  80.21 
Angmentations  66. 83 
Authentic  9.19 

Bandied  4. 4 

Beck  11. 15 

Bel  56.26 

Belgia  42. 30 

Belglc  31.2 

Bereaving  41. 9 

Beseeming  30. 13 

Besotted  13.21 

Britain  27.4 

British  26. 32 

Bruges  42. 19 

Bncer  47. 27 

Buchanan  28.  16 ;  29.  27 ;  80. 11 

Byzantine  26. 20 


C»sars  13. 23 ;  28. 6 
Calumniate  9. 18 
Calvin  29.6;  47.12;  50.32 
Canaanitish  88. 18 
Carcasses  21. 16 
Cartwright  48.83;  49.6 
Caveats  26. 6 
CavUlous  36. 16 
Censures  27. 10 
Chair  48. 15 
Charge  43.14;  44.8 
Charles  the  Fifth  28. 3 
Charles  the  Great  25. 1 
Charles  the  Ninth  42.28 
Chrlstlem  II  42. 13 
Chrysostome  18.21 
ClrcumsUntlal  26. 8 
Clad  (liim  over)  87.  82 
Classic  7. 28 
CochliBus  45. 22 
Commodltle  44. 3 ;  55.  4 
Concrete  18. 13 
Constantinns  Leo  25. 9 
Convenience  18.1 
Corah  8. 6 
Conrtesle  12.84 
Coz'n  39. 28 
Craig  28. 35 

Daniel  66. 25 

Dathan  8. 6 

David   14.  6,  23 ;    16.  9 ;    18. 34 

25.28;  42.82;  66.19,25,28 
Defaulted  (towards)  24. 10 
Degradement  36. 36 
Delinquents  8. 4  ;  34  (note) ;  63 
Demerit  19.13 
Demophoon  14. 21 
Denmark  42. 12 
Despotic  36. 34 
Dion  14.29 
Disanointed  4. 6 


Index 


DiiobllKMnent  86. 17 
Doom  SS.b 
Double  lln'd  44. 2 
DonbUoK  9. 17 :  64. 36 
Drif  u  41. 28 
Du  HalUaa  26. 1 
Dynasta's  24.11 

Edward  (Salat)  25. 15 
Eglon  20.30;  22.  20,28 
£hnd  20.  29 ;  22  26 
HUabeth  29.30;  30  (note) 
Erected  39.5 
Erewhlle  8.  7 
Euclid  52. 26 
Enripldea  14.28 
Europe  16. 4 
Exactest  62. 13 
Exactor  46. 1 
Express  11. 11 
Exttagnlshing  (from)  61. 8 

Faction  4.  J6;  19.27;  40  20 

Fain'd  5.28;  87.20 

Famonsest  48. 21 

Fardest  36. 22 

Fast  and  loos  36. 26 

Feats  54. 24 

Fenner  48. 34 ;  60. 20  34 

Fetoh'd  9. 18 

Flourlshd  (it  over)  23.29 

Fomented  43. 5 

Forecited  18.2 

Formes  6. 4 ;  6. 8 ;  37  34 

Fnlminations  38. 14 

Furder  15.80;  20.4;  32.8;  4«. : 

(Geneva  50.20 
GentUes  24. 2 
Oentilisme  23. 29 
Germany  45.  24 ;  60. 26 
Oibrish  5. 6 
Gibson  30  (note) 
Oilby  49. 10 
OUdas  26.26:  27.4 
Gloes'd  7. 17 
Goodman  49. 16 ;  60. 19 
Greeks  20. 10 
Onlltiaess  14. 18 ;  31. 21 
Gnll  (to)  44.10 


■83 


Habitudes  37.34 

Hague  30. 21 

Happ  46. 6 

Harpy's  61. 15 

Havock  (to)  41. 12 

Hercales  20. 17 

Heasen  (Lantgrave  of)  28  ' 

High-Jandera  30. 7 

Hist,  of  Scot.  29. 14 

Holland  80. 20 

Hnddl'd  48. 16 


Imports  (it)  21.1:  26.4;  54. 1- 
Inclinable  12.  25  ' 

Inductions  66.32 
Industry  (of)  5. 28 
Ingagtng  of  4.  7 
Intanglement  6.5 
Isaiah  12.20 
Israel  5.36;  16.2,11 
Isrselites  16.7,26;  66.20 

James  I  30  (note). 
Jebusites  65. 20 
Jehoash  16.4 
Jeholada  16.  4 
Jehoram  28.8 
Jehu  28  24 
Jerusalem  55. 33 
Jesse  16.9 

Jews   12. 20, 28 ;   20. 28  •    »'  00  • 
39.9  '      ■■      ' 

Jonathans  6.86 
Juggl'd  4.4 
Justinian  16. 3 

Keyes  (power  of)  27. 18 
Knox  28.28;  29.6;  48.21,25 
Killing  (the)  34. 12 


Labour'd  out  6.  2 
Languedoc  31. 16 
Latitude  (and  shelter)  36. 35 
Lemedest  48.  34 
Lethington  28.21 
Levites  56. 20 
LiTT  16.20 
Ludovieua  Pius  24. 31 
Luther  45. 10, 28 
Lyons  81. 16 


iR4 


The  Tenure  of  Kings  anil  MugislraUs 


Hadd  (upon)  87. 16 

Hagiu  66.81 

Milmt  6&.  12 

Haitland  (of  Lethlngton)  Hi.  21 

Hsllgnant  27.80^  41.28 

Hartrr  (Peter)  28. 18;  48. 12 

Huy  29.29;  GO. 28 

HaiimlUui  42. 18 

Hemento'i  6. 80 

Meroz  38.12;  44.28 

Mlddleburrongh  60.  20 

HUegaat  26.2 

Miavellanies  46. 28 

HonltoTlea  6. 80 

Motaical  S.20 

Moms  (law  of)  14. 10 

Hotlonista  66.  7 

Motions  64.28 

Naples  42. 31 
Needs  must  19.3 
Nero  5. 29 
Netherlands  42. 26 
Newcastle  87. 10 
Newport  88. 8 
Nicenesse  6. 1 
Noma  18.22 

Oblations  44. 2 
Obnozlons  88.  5 
Oeconomize  89.  81 
Originall  9. 11 
OrAodoial  9. 20 
Ooted  51. 21 
OnUandish  21.7;  22.17 
Overeway'd  36.27 

Palter'd  4. 4 

Parseas  4a  18 

Paris  42.22 

Paris  (Mattbew)  26. 18 

Patheticall  14.18 

Fawn  8. 31 

Persnance  41.5 

Pbalarls  46.2 

Philip  30. 22 

Pluralities  7.24,36;  43.28;  61.28; 

66.32 
Postures  55. 18 
Pragmatical  4t      ? 
Preachment  43.  ib 
Prejudicial  81.7 


Presbyterians  81.  9,  16 ;   82.  12 ; 

33.16,20 
Presidents  6.  18 ;  27.  26,  82 ;  40. 

28,26 
Prime  20. 11 
Progging  4a  86 
Proportlonably  62. 19 
Pnrita.l«  80  (note),  46. 5 

Queen  Regent  28. 10 

Relatives  83. 11 
Revolters  4. 9 
Richard  II  26. 16 
RIdUug  86. 9 
Roboam  16.26;  17.4 
Romans  17. 16 ;  20. 10 
Romish  27. 17 
Round  (don  it)  81. 17 

8.  Albanes  12. 6 

Sarasin  22.  IS 

Saul  42.83 

Saiony  (Duke  of)  28  1 

Scape  21. 22 

Scar  Crowes  6. 27 

Scripture  and  Reason  61.26 

Scotland  29. 14, 22 

Self-repugnance  7. 16 

Seneca  20. 17 

Sesell  (Claudius)  11.18 

Simon  Magus  66.81 

Simony  48. 28 

Sion  44. 9 ;  55. 19 

Sleidan  28. 6 ;  46. 11, 20 

Smalcaldla  45. 26 

Smith,  Sir  Thomas  26. 19 

SoUlciUng  48. 86 

Somlus  (Conrad)  47. 10 

Sovran  8. 12;  22. 21 ;  88. 28 ;  40. 19 

Speciflcal  87.84 

St.  Basil  19.27 

St.  Edward  26. 15 

St  Paul  18.2;  61.88 

St.  Peters  rule  64.6 

Sterling  28. 14 

Straltest  82. 31 

Streight  4. 1 

Strook  66. 12 

Stuft  54. 16 

Subprelattcal  66. 9 


i»5 


TuqaiBlllI  1«.21 
TtrtuUlas  12.21 
TkMdodnl  14.80 
TlinldomH  8.28 
Thauiu  81. 4 
Tnju  14.90 
Turk  22. 12 
TnniM  7.18;  64.85 

Unconfonnd  88. 19 
Unfordble  41. 21 
Un-Klngd  80.4;  88.! 
Umnagiitrate  62. 82 
UnmucuUne  7. 7 
UnnecMWrtMt  6. 1 


tTDMuible  sa  20 
Uiuwonie  12. 4 
Urimh  14. 8, 17 

Vligln  Hut  24. 9 
VoDtMTd  So.  16 
ValtzM  25.2 

WtldaiuM  81. 16 
Wamntsble  81. 24 
Whltttngliam  60.25 
Wllllun  the  Nomun  12. 8;  22.S 

ZwlngUoa  46. 16 


YALE  STUDIES  IN  ENGLISH. 

Alb»t  S.  Pook,  Edtor. 

I.  The  Foreign  Source,  of  Modem  E.«Ii.h  Venrifiction 
Charlton  M.  Liwis,  Ph.D.    tOJSO 
n.  ^c:  A  New  Study  of  hi.  Life  and  Writing,.  C«oLm, 

Louisa  White,  Ph.D.   »1.60 
DI.  The  Life  of  St.  Cecilia,  from  MS.  A,hmoIe  48  and  MS 
Cotton  TiberiusE.  Vn,  with  Introduction,  Variant.,  "d 
IV  T^y^^'^^    ■'"™*  Eujo.  LoviwELL,  rh.D.    11.00 

^'  ^  Ph.D.     W.m"""''    ^°™^^-      ^"""""  WOODBRIDOE, 

^'  ^f„d  w'^.l"''  ^"^  ^^  ^°'^^-  Latin-Wert  Saxon 
andWct  Saxon-Latin.    Mattie  Anstice  Harris,  Ph.D. 

Vn.  And^a,..  The  Legend  of  StAndrew,  translated  from  the 

Vm.  The  Classical  Mythology  of  Milton's  English  Poems. 
1.-HARLES  Grosvenor  Osgood,  Ph.D    »1 00 

IX.  A  Guide  to  fte  Middle  English  Metrical  Romance,  dealing 

^th  Engl^h  and  Germanic  Legends,  and  witt^ 
Cycle,  of  Charlemagne  and  of  AHhur.  Anna  Hmrr 
Bn-UNGs,  Ph.D.   11.80. 

X.  The  EarUest  Uves  of  Dante,  transUted  from  the  Italian  of 

Giovanm  Boccaccio  and  LionardoBruniAretino.  James 
Robinson  SMrra.   J0.75.  ^^^ 

XI.  A^Stady  in  Epic  Development    Irene  T  Mver,,  PhJ). 


Tale  Studies  in  English 

Xn.  The  Short  Story.    Henry  Seidel  Canby.   W.30. 

Xni.  King  Alfted's  Old  English  Version  of  St.  Augustine's 
Soliloquies,  edited  with  Introduction,  Notes,  and 
Glossary.    Henry  Lee  Hjirgroye,  PhJJ.    11.00. 

XIV.  The  Phonology  of  the  Northumbrian  Gloss  of  St 

Matthew.    Emily  Howard  Foley,  Ph.D.    J0.76. 
XV.  Essays  on  the  Study  and  Use  of  Poetry  by  Plutarch 
and  Basil  the  Great,  translated  from  the  Greek, 
with  an  Introduction.     Frederick  M.  Padelford, 
Ph.D.  10.76. 

XVI.  The  Translations  of  Beowulf:  A  Critical  Bibliography. 
Chauncev  B.  Tinker,  Ph.D.  W.75. 

XVn.  The  Alchemist,  by  Ben  Jonson,   edited  with  Intro- 
duction, Notes,  and  Glossary.    Charles  M.  Hatha- 
way, Jr.,  Ph.D.    »2.60.    Cloth,  «3.00. 
XVm.  The  Expression  of  Purpose  in  Old  English  Prose. 
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XIX.  Classical  Mythology  in  Shakespeare.  Robert  Kilburn 
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XX.  The  Controversy  between  the  Puritans  and  the  Stage. 

Elbert  N.  S.  Thompson,  Ph.D.    »2.00. 

XXI.  The  Elene  of  Cynewulf,  translated  into  English  Prose. 

Lucius  Hudson  Holt.    J0.80. 
XXn.  King  Alfred's  Old  English  Version  of  St  Augustine's 

Soliloquies,  turned  into  Modem  English.  Henry  Lee 

Hargrove,  Ph.D.    J0.76. 
XXm.  The  Cross  in  the  Life  and  Literature  of  the  Anglo-Saxons. 

WlLLUM  O.  Stevens,  Ph.D.    10.75. 
XXIV.  An  Index  to  the  Old  English  Glosses  of  the  Durham 

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Ph.D.   $2.00. 

XXVI.  Select  Translations  from  Scaliger's  Poetics.   Frederick 

M.  Padelford,  Ph.D.   $0.76. 

XXVII.  Poetaster,  by  Ben  Jonson,  edited  with  Introduction 

Notes,  and  Glossary.     Herbert  S.  Mallory,  Ph.D. 
12.00.    Cloth,  $2.80. 


Tale  Studies  in  English 


xxvni. 

XXK. 
XXX. 
XXXI. 


xxxn. 

xxxni. 

XXXIV. 

XXXV. 
XXXVI. 

XXX  vn. 
xxxvm. 

XXXIX. 

XL. 


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